I split a weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share - a veg box! - with my husband and another friend. I love that it gives us local produce throughout the year, connects us to the landscape and the seasons where we live, and the farmers who provide our food, and is much more environmentally friendly than getting all our fruit & veg from the grocery store. 

In our last November share, we were given a surprise bag of fresh cranberries. While cranberry sauce is integral part of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., I knew I would be making a pot pie that evening, and went looking for a savory recipe that incorporated the singular tartness of these berries.

I did some research and found chicken and cranberry pie recipes that could be adapted. I had intended originally to use white beans as the protein, but forgot I didn't have any left in the pantry! I used tempeh instead, but the recipe should work well with either. Mustard and nutritional yeast are both essential to give this pie its rich umami flavor. 

This dish takes about 3 hours to come together. You can prepare the pie crust ahead of time and store it for several days to make it an easier after-work meal, or you could also use a store-bought vegan pie crust. This is the first time I’ve tried the Bon Appetit recipe, and it was the best pie crust I've ever made, and probably the easiest to work with.

This pie will feed 6-8 people with a nice side salad. We even had the leftovers the next day as a savory breakfast! It was THAT GOOD. 🥧 

It is a perfect recipe for the holiday season if you're looking for something special to make for lunch or dinner with friends and family!

Crust
Adapted from Bon Appetit Test Kitchen 

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or your favorite butter alternative!)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp ice water 

1. Dice butter and put on a tray in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes.
2. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. 
3. Toss butter in flour mixture to evenly coat. Working quickly and aggressively, use your fingers to rub butter into flour to create large, shaggy pieces of dough (the idea is to smash the butter into the flour, creating some pieces that are flat and thin and some that are large and chunky).
4. Combine vinegar and 3 Tbsp. ice water in a small bowl and drizzle over flour mixture, running your fingers through the flour as you drizzle to evenly distribute (think of running your fingers through your hair). Knead dough in the bowl until it starts to come together (it will still look a little dry).
5. Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead 1 or 2 more times, pressing to incorporate shaggy edges. Divide dough into 2 pieces and press into about 1"-thick disks. Put in Tupperware containers and chill at least 1 hour.

Filling

• 1.5 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 large carrots - diced
• 1 small sweet potato - diced
• 1.5 tsp mixture of dried basil and rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1.5 cups vegetable stock
• 2.5 cups tempeh - diced
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1. In a pan on medium heat add olive oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Add carrot, sweet potato, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook veggies 5 minutes until they start to get a little tender, stirring often.
4. Stir in Dijon mustard. Sprinkle flour over top and stir to combine. Stir to combine.
5. Add vegetable stock, bring to simmer and cook 3 minutes. Add tempeh, cranberries, peas and nutritional yeast. Stir to combine. 
6. Remove filling from heat. Add more herbs, salt and pepper to taste! 

Assembly

• 3 Tbsp non-dairy milk 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. (177 degrees C, or Gas Number 4)
2. Sprinkle a clean tea towel with flour. Roll one crust out to a few inches wider than your pie plate.
3. Flip towel onto pie plate and allow the crust to sink into the dish. Place in the refrigerator.
4. Roll out the second crust using the same method. Leave on tea towel for now.
5. Remove dish from the refrigerator
6. Fill your pie with filling - it should look like a raised mound, but you may have a little extra filling. This can be used for a weekday lunch!
7. Brush the edges of the bottom crust with non-dairy milk. Cover filling with second crust. 
8. Use kitchen scissors to trim excess crust, then use a fork to crimp the edges of your pie to seal. Cut three slits in the top of the pie to vent.
9. Optional: Use the scraps of the crust to cut small shapes to adorn the top of your pie!
10. Brush outer crust with remainder of non-dairy milk.
11. Place on a sheet tray in the oven. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until crust is golden brown!