Jul 15, 2010

cauliflower hand pies

European/Potato Night

For tonight's meal, we nod to the British Isles. We had savory hand pies. I made it with cauliflower and some soy curls in a creamy gravy. The soy curls are optional here, in my opinion, since the cauliflower is the star. For hand pies to work, the gravy needs to be outstanding. If the gravy is insufficient or tasteless the whole pie is doomed. To make these pies more flavorful I added 1/4 c of Dijon mustard to the gravy which I made with almond milk and a roux. 

Do not be afraid of the pastry! As overwhelming as I've found it to be in the past. I guess my hesitation in making pastry lies in all the mess. Flour everywhere! Not anymore. I use a little oil spray instead of flour to roll my dough. The dough! It must be flaky! Cakes must be moist, doughs must be flaky. This must be why I am not a pastry chef- the dough phobia. I am happy to report that that is all in the past. My dough is flaky and since I like more bang for all my bucks, I use whole wheat flour and lace it with herbs. 

Delicious! ~ I type as I write this with a mouth full of creamy cauliflower wrapped in a flaky herbed -dough.

Cost Breakdown:
dough: $1
1/2 cauliflower: $2
onion, pepper, garlic, spices: $1.50
soy curls: $1
milk: $.50
Total to make 8, 4" pies:
$6.00




11 comments:

  1. I saw your veganization of Paul Deen "chicken fried steak" gravy loved it. Add this to the your gravy repetoire. Great stuff!

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  2. Thanks, Gigi. I'll take Paula, you've got Martha. I like your version better.

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  3. It was excellent. I'll have to write down the recipe so I don't forget - and you can try.

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  4. So, how do you make your roux with no butter?

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  5. Traditionally, or technically, roux is a fat and flour mixture where the flour is cooked to some degree; the darkness of the roux determines how much thickening power it has and how flavorful it will be. (The darker the less thickening power it has.)

    The roux itself would only need fat, so olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower, etc. would suffice. I, however, don't like adding all that fat, so I toast my flour first with no fat, watching very carefully not to burn it, then I can add some fat (olive oil is my favorite) for flavor and whisk in my liquid.

    In this case, with the hand pies, I cooked the onions and garlic half-way first, in maybe 1 T of oil, then I added my 1/4 c of flour, mixing very well and continuing to cook the mixture to darken both the flour and the onions some more. Then I added my almond milk (2 c), stirring constantly to make sure there would be no flour bits left in the sauce. In went the cauliflower and I cooked the whole thing for another 10 minutes to blend the flavors and make sure the flour taste was cooked out.

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  6. Haha. Thank you. Although it is my intention to veganize some Paula baked goods up the road.

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  7. Gigi, I am in no way trying to monopolize Mz. Deen - especially her baked goods - which I have no doubt you will succeed over triumphantly! I will be keeping a close eye on your blog to see what your pick will be :)

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  8. Your wish shall be granted. I will make it this week and write as I cook. I will post the recipe with the blog post.

    Thanks for asking, Cathy :)

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu