Lentil and Potato Pot Pies with Rosemary Biscuit Crust
Lentils. Lentils. Lentils. I love lentils!
Brown Lentils, or any kind of lentils really, are so good for you (read The Sweet Beet about lentils, and how they’re a great protein that never swam or walked). They’re really tasty. Really tasty! And versatile too. Make them into a pot pie, a soup, some tacos, a chili, a stew, a main dish with veggies, make them in the crock pot, use them in a cold salad, mmmm so yummy!
lentils are easy to make, healthy, tasty, and full of protein
These lentil pot pies would be a vegetarian great dish to serve at Thanksgiving dinner (and, you know Thanksgiving is sneaking around the corner soon!). For that matter, it’d be great for Christmas dinner, or any family gathering. I haven’t tried making it as one large pot pie, but I bet it would work really well if you wanted it for a larger potluck type event.
I really like the savory, complex, deep flavors of this stew. The biscuits are a great way to make a pot pie fun and different, not the usual pie crust. The rosemary in the biscuits ups the flavor and the savory-ness of the dish. Garnish with some fresh rosemary, if desired.
This recipe was inspired by something I saw in Bon Appetit
These homey comforting pot pies would make an impressive main course for your vegetarian guests at Thanksgiving dinner
Lentil and Potato Pot Pies with Rosemary Biscuit Crust Recipe:
Lentil and Potato Pot Pies with Rosemary Biscuits
Ingredients
FILLING:
- ½ cup brown lentils
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 carrots cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 medium or 9 baby Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
BISCUITS:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons yellow corn meal
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter diced
- ½ cup buttermilk*
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
To make FILLING:
- Combine 3 cups cold water, lentils, and salt in a medium saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid; set lentils and reserved liquid aside.
- Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook until browned, about 20 minutes. Add carrot, rosemary, and thyme, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix flour into vegetables; cook 1 minute. Add vegetable broth and reserved lentil cooking liquid.
- Mix in potatoes, soy sauce, and tomato paste. Cover; simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, 13 to 15 minutes. Add lentils; season with salt and pepper. Divide filling among four 2-cup ovenproof bowls.
- Filling can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.
To make TOPPING:
- Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and rosemary, and blend with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, and mix with clean hands until dough forms moist clumps. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces; shape each into 2/3-inch-thick disk. Set rounds atop filling.
- Bake pies on baking sheet until tester inserted into biscuit topping comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
*Cook's Notes: If you don't have or don't want to buy fresh buttermilk, get some powdered buttermilk and keep it in an airtight container in your cupboard. It pretty much lasts forever. And, you can use it in almost anything instead of fresh buttermilk. I don't use it for things like buttermilk pancakes where the buttermilk is the main ingredient. But, for biscuits on top of a pot pie, it works like a charm. And, you can reconstitute it in water or milk, your choice. I used milk for these biscuits because I wanted the extra body that milk has.
I used brown lentils for the pot pies. Brown lentils are the most readily available type of lentil. Brown Lentils are plumper but smaller than green lentils with a more earthy flavor.
Related posts:
Lentil Chili with Green Onions
Orange-Shallot Tofu with Avocado Served on a Bed of Roasted Lentils
And, A bit about Lentils with a pretty picture of lentil-sweet potato stew
This time I used baby Yukon Gold potatoes for the pot pies.
Rachael says
Oooh, this looks lovely! My daughter-in-law has been told to up her iron intake and has asked me to make more lentil dishes, so this one will definitely be going on our winter dinner roster! Thanks for posting it 🙂
Debi says
Thanks! You could also throw in a handful of fresh spinach right before baking. The spinach would wilt, add a tasty savoriness, and even more iron. And, for another change in flavor, switch out the potatoes for sweet potatoes. Check out the related posts for more lentil recipes.
Donna says
This looks and sounds quite lovely. I’m going to make it this week. It’s perfect for the cooler weather too… yum 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo says
I make a lentil pot pie too that is sort of similar (http://yellebellyboo.blogspot.com/2011/08/lentil-pot-pie.html) but I use puff pastry instead of a biscuit. I need a way to make it more gooey though so I am going to try to adjust with the veggie stock like you suggest! THANKS!
The Cheapskate Cook says
Looks delicious! I recently stared making Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, but this looks like a fabulous meatless meal to try out as well! Planning to pin this baby on Pinterest so I remember to try it out. Thanks for sharing.
(Here from These Chicks Cook, btw)
Debi says
Thanks for the comment. Lentil Shepherd’s Pie sounds great as well. I love the name of your site, I’ll go check it out now. 🙂
Debi says
Thanks for the comment. I hope it works! 🙂
Elizabeth L. says
This looks great! I’m definitely going to give this a try when it gets cooler. Thanks for the recipe!
Visiting from These Chicks Cooked,
Lizy
PS: You can also make buttermilk by putting a tablespoon of plain vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and then adding enough milk to make 1 cup. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes (without stirring) and you’ve got buttermilk! Not as thick as regular buttermilk, but a great substitute!
Debi says
Awesome! thanks for the tip.And, thanks for the comment! 🙂
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook) says
Just made this, and it’s a keeper!!!! Delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Debi says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback! I love that you made them. 🙂
Elizabeth T. says
Hi! Just made these tonight and I wanted to let you know that they are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! One of my favorite dishes of all time! Thanks so much for sharing! (also made your pumpkin pie for T-giving, very good as well) Can’t wait to try the bagels! Love your blog!
Debi says
awesome! Thanks! You totally made my day! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Debi says
Featured recipe of the week at Family Fresh Meals: http://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2012/03/featured-recipe-of-week.html#more
🙂
Margaret J. says
I made this with just a few changes. I used 1 tablespoon ketchup instead of
tomato paste (didn’t want to open a whole can of paste for 1 T.) and 3 cloves of garlic instead of one. Since I only had one – 2 cup oven proof bowl, I baked mine in two – 4 cup containers. That worked well. I like this as a basic recipe but next time I will make a few changes. Since my husband felt there was too much rosemary, I will cut that in half. Instead of vegetable broth, I will try 2 cups beef flavored broth made with one McCormick’s All-Vegetable Bouillon cube plus water. Overall I think this is a very tasty dish and will make it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Debi says
Awesome. I’m glad you liked it! I buy tubes of Tomato Paste
(to get around that whole opening the can for 1 tablespoon thing). All you have to do is squeeze out what you want and keep the tube in the fridge for the next use. It doesn’t go bad. And, well, the beef broth wouldn’t work for me (as I don’t eat beef), but I’m sure it’ll add a lot of flavor. Thanks for the comment.
Amanda says
Hi! I found this recipe on Pinterest and veganized it. It was INCREDIBLE. So savory and warm on a cold fall night! I added frozen peas & corn to give it a more shepherd’s pie feel, and it made two round casserole dishes full! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Debi says
Yippie! I’m so glad you liked it! The addition of corn and peas sounds great too! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Rosevine Cottage Girls says
This looks so good!!! We need to try these! We found you over at the CSI linkup. Glad I found you. We wanted to invite you over to our blog to link up too. It is at http://rosevinecottagegirls.blogspot.com/2013/11/link-up-5.html
Gracie says
I loved this recipe. I will be making it for sure. Thanks you for sharing at the CSIproject contest.
Tara says
That is right up my alley, I adore lentils!!!
Debi says
Me too, Tara! They are such a great flavor and so full of nutrition! 🙂
Joanne/WineLadyCooks says
I make lentils often – I would love to try this pot pie style recipe. What a delicious vegetarian dish and of course I’m just love the biscuit topping.
Debi says
Thanks! This is one of my favorites! So yummy & healthy. 🙂
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry! says
I don’t cook with lentils nearly often enough, so this recipe is a good opportunity to have more lentils! And I love the idea of the rosemary biscuit. Pinning and sharing!
Erica (@Erica's Recipes) says
the biscuit topping alone looks sooooo good – beautiful recipe Debi!
Ashley D says
I just made these, they turned out magical! My boyfriend won’t stop raving about how tasty they are. 🙂 I definitely see these on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner!
Debi says
Awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! That totally makes my day! 🙂