Veggie Turkey Potpie

There's something so comforting about potpies—tender chunks of meat, a savory selection of perfectly cooked veggies, a creamy roux to round out the mix, and a flakey crust to top it all. Here's one recipe for potpie that's low in calories and fat, but still just as satisfying and comforting as any traditional potpie. You'll be licking your plate clean and wishing you'd made more. Absolutely delicious!

This recipe was inspired by the Lighter Chicken Potpie recipe in the October 2007 issue of Everyday Food.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1/2 pound green beans, stems removed and cut into bize-sized pieces
• 1/2 pound corn (We used about half a bag of frozen corn, defrosted.)
• 1/2 pound peas (We used about half a bag of frozen peas, defrosted.)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat milk (We used almond milk.)
• about 9 ounces cooked, chopped meat (We used turkey breast, but you could easily substitute other meats like chicken breast.)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 phyllo sheets

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°, and spray a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. Heat garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant.
3. Add the onion, and stir occasionally, cooking for about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the carrots, and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
5. Stir in the green beans, and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Add the flour, and stir for one minute.
7. Add the milk, stirring until the flour is dissolved.
8. Simmer the mix until it thickens, stirring occasionally.

9. Stir in the turkey, corn, peas, seasonings, and lemon juice, and then pour it into the prepared casserole dish.

10. Place 2 phyllo sheets on the casserole dish, pour a few drops of olive oil on it, and carefully use a pastry brush to spread it around, coating the phyllo dough. Repeat with two more layers of phyllo and oil. If you're using rectangular phyllo sheets and a round casserole dish, rotate placement of the sheets so that all sides of the dish have about the same amount of overlap to form the crust edge.
11. Take the edges of the phyllo sheets that hang over the sides of the dish, and fold and crimp them over, forming a crust.

12. Using a knife, cut about three slits into the crust, near the center, to allow steam to escape.
13. Bake until the crust is golden and the roux is bubbling, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the potpie sit for about 15 minutes before digging in.

She said

This is one of my favorite winter dishes. I plan on making this a bunch more this winter. I especially like the different colors of veggies in the dish above, but it would be fun to vary it up by swapping out some of the veggies and the meat, just for fun. Maybe we'll incorporate mushrooms, small chunks of cooked potato or sweet potato, different kinds of onion, celery, leeks, parsnips, spinach, or turnip. I can see us also experimenting with different seasonings—maybe rosemary, basil, or thyme. What are your favorite potpie ingredients?

He said

I can't believe it took me so many years to cook with phyllo dough. If you can't find phyllo dough, crescent roll dough would make a fine substitution here. There's so little else to say about pot pie, other than I just can't get on board with the seemingly rarer single-word spelling. Either way you spell it, it's a wonderful mix of vegetable flavor with a creamy consistency and a touch of all that is right in home cooking. And yet I'm up for trying something a little different too, like maybe a seafood pot pie...