vegetable pie

SAVORY VEGETABLE PIE
Created by Kim Harris May 1, 2009
Crust and Topping:
2 cloves garlic
1 C sunflower seeds
1-1/2 C walnuts
3/4 t salt
2 t basil
2 t tarragon
1 t rosemary
handful chopped parsley

Filling:

2 medium onions cut in thin half-moon slices
1 large handful shiitake mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
1 T olive oil
1 T nama shoyu
2 medium zucchini squash, cut into 1/4 rounds
3 carrots, cut into 1/2 rounds
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly cross-wise
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 T nama shoyu
1 T basil
1 T tarragon

Method:

For the crust:
Process garlic in food processor; add remainder of ingredients except parsley and process till mixture begins clumping.
Break up mixture by hand or spoon, and reserve about 1 C for the topping. Press remainder into a pie plate.

For the filling:
Ideally a day or two before, marinate the onions and mushrooms separately in olive oil and nama shoyu - I use about 1 t each for the mushrooms and about 1 T each for the onions. I do this in mason jars and just shake them occasionally to mix and coat. The day or two is especially helpful to break down the onions a bit; the mushrooms are fine with just an hour or two, but the flavor becomes more rich with added time. Toss the squash, carrots and pepper with the next 5 ingredients, stirring occasionally. 1 to 3 hours is fine for this, but overnight would be good as well .

To assemble:
Mix the onions and mushrooms with the squash mixture. If there is a lot of liquid left from the onions and shrooms, you may want to reserve it for soup or gravy. Place filling into pressed crust, and sprinkle with reserved crust topping. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note: This entire pie could be made a day ahead of time and left in the fridge for flavors to blend. Adjust various steps according to your schedule, and enjoy!