The crisp days of fall bring a return to hearth and home just as farm stands crowd with autumn vegetables. Salad days are behind us until next year’s summer, and we turn instead to comfort foods. What better warmth can we find than a steaming mug of fresh-pressed cider paired with a hearty slab of beef pot pie?
For the most part, this recipe uses seasonal foods, but to save time, calls for frozen pearl onions and peas. If you have the time and prefer to use all fresh vegetables, you can always substitute chopped onion and broccoli for the pearl onions and peas. The dough is my own recipe for butter pie crust. This can be made ahead and frozen, then thawed. If you’re in a rush, you could save time by using frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones.
The recipe as written takes a bit of time for vegetable prep, making the pie crust, and cooking the filling, so plan accordingly. You could reserve this for a weekend supper, a company meal, a potluck offering, or for anytime you want to fuss. The results are definitely worth the effort!
Beef Pot Pie with Harvest Vegetables Homemade From Scratch Recipe
Ingredients
Beef Pot Pie Filling
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1-1/2 to 2 lbs. flank steak
- 2 medium portabello mushrooms, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups fresh butternut squash (with seeds and rind removed), cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 Tbsp. Better than Bouillon (or use beef broth instead)
- 8 ozs. water (omit if using beef broth)
- 1/2 cup frozen pearl onions
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp. dried thyme)
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Homemade Butterflake Pie Crust
- 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill). If you don’t have pastry flour, you can substitute whole wheat or unbleached white flour. For nutritional reasons, I recommend using organic flour.
- 1 cup salted butter
- 6-8 Tbsp. water (or enough to make a non-sticky ball).
Step One: Prep
- Turn on the oven to 375F.
- Flank steak: trim fat and cut into 1-inch chunks.
- Mushrooms: Clean and cut into 1-inch chunks.
- Thyme: Pick and wash fresh thyme. Strip leaves from stems. Discard stems and reserve leaves for recipe.
- Seed and peel butternut squash. Cut enough to make 2 cups into 1-inch pieces.
- Assemble all ingredients, pans, bowls, and measurers.
Step Two: Cook Filling
- Saute flank steak, mushrooms, butternut squash, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan until beef is brown with no pink showing.
- Add thyme leaves, pearl onions, peas, salt, pepper, Better than Bouillon and 8 ozs. water or broth. Stir gently and bring to a simmer.
- Sprinkle beef mixture with 4 Tbsp. flour and cover with lid. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir. Let beef filling rest while you make pie crust.
Step Three: Make Pie Crust
- Put 4 cups pastry flour into a medium bowl.
- Grate butter over flour.
- Using hands, blend grated butter into flour.
- Gather into a non-sticky but pliant ball and turn onto pastry board.
- Using a rolling pin, roll dough to fit the top of your pie pan.
- Cut a cross in the middle of the crust.
Step Four: Assemble Pot Pie
- Pour filling into a pie plate.
- Put the prepared pastry top over the pie filling and seal to the edges of the pie plate.
- Put in the pre-heated oven right away.
Step Five: Bake
- Bake 30-35 minutes, just enough time to clean up the kitchen and set the table, assemble a salad and heat cider.
Step Six: Serve and Enjoy!
