Tempeh and Eggplant Pot Pies recipes

Use any combination of vegetables for the filling here. The dough is perfect for making drop biscuits (a recipe found in The Joy of Vegan Baking) and the topping is perfect for fruit-based cobblers.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (165 g) diced eggplant (1 small globe eggplant or 2 Asian eggplants)
• 1 package (8 ounces, or 225 g) tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water or olive oil
• 1 small-size yellow onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 teaspoon (2 g) fennel seeds
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (8 to 16 g) capers, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
• 1 can or jar ( 15 ounces, or 420 g) tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or hot sauce
• pepper
• salt
• 1 2/3 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) baking powder (look for aluminum-free)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) nondairy milk (soy, rice, almond, hazelnut, hemp, or oat)
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) canola oil or nondairy, nonhydrogenated butter (such as Earth Balance), melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7). Coat 4 or 6 individual ramekins with oil, and set aside. You also can use a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan or a rectangular pan.
2. To make filling, steam eggplant and tempeh for 10 to 15 minutes, until eggplant is soft and translucent. At the same time, add water or oil to a large-size sauté pan and cook onion and celery until soft. Add fennel seeds, capers, and vinegar, and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and cooked tempeh and eggplant. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, prepare biscuit dough. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl, and stir together. Pour in nondairy milk and butter or oil, and mix just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. The dough should be lumpy and sticky, not smooth like cake batter.
4. Remove sauté pan from heat, and season filling with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Divide filling evenly among prepared ramekins. Drop dough by small spoonfuls on top of each ramekin. Carefully spread dough with back of spoon so it evenly covers filling. Bake pot pies until crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

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