Mushroom Pie

I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted the vegetarian Christmas entrée to be. I did not want to cook another squash or pumpkin - I did that at Thanksgiving - I wanted something warm and winter-y.

I wanted a non-meat meat pie.

So I created it with mushrooms and pastry, and I served it with mushroom gravy. To my surprise, it turned out just like I had imagined.

I started by baking a mushroom pâté in a seven-inch round cake tin. Then I lined an eight-inch springform pan with pastry and dropped in the cooked pâté. I covered it with a crust, which Mum helped me decorate with holly leaves and berries made from scraps of dough. I brushed it with egg and baked it, and it came out looking spectacular.

It was very moist so it didn't need the mushroom gravy I made, and it reheated well as leftovers.

The mushrooms were delicious, but I think I could have used any bean or lentil loaf as the filling. Non-meat meat pie will show up again on our winter table, I am sure.

Mushroom Pâté
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp white wine
2/3 cup pinquitos (or other small beans) cooked
1 egg, beaten
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and line a 7" diameter cake pan.

Cook the mushrooms, onion, garlic, red pepper, water and wine in a saucepan over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly.

Put the mushroom mixture in a food processor along with the cooked beans and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the egg, bread crumbs, thyme and rosemary. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Level the surface. Bake about 1 hour until set and browned on top. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Serve as pâté with crackers, or use in a pie as described above.