MOFO Day #15 True Grub: Hunter's Pie

Yeah-yeah, I know it's supposed to be souffle. Go ahead, make it into a souffle and blog about it. I don't own a ramekin, and if I went door to door in my neighborhood asking people if they owned one, they would probably call Homeland Security. Sigh. Life in a small Indiana town.

I was intrigued by Maryann's concoction made with the heart of Bon Temp's local Hoodoo woman and fed to Tara and Eggs. They got real cray-cray after eating it and started simultaneously making out and beating one another. The power of food!

Could I veganize this? I wondered. I went over several vegetable combinations in my head and kept coming back to the good ol' beet. I gagged a little. For the record, I HATE beets. So I did some homework and researched flavors that go well with beets. I do enjoy oranges, and we all know sweet and savory flavors can do magical things. I crossed my fingers and hoped that it would work.
I used Kittee's pie crust recipe from Papa Tofu, which I believe is out of print--but you can go to pakupaku and click on the whole wheat pie crust recipe and write her to tell her how awesome she is. She'd like that.
I used my 50k spent in art school to sculpt that tiny crude heart. My ceramics prof would be disappointed. "Jennifer, didn't you learn anything from me?" She would say.

She'd take back those words after one bite. It totally worked! Holy Shit! I have found a way to enjoy beets.

My colleagues both omni and vegetarian loved it. So much in fact, Weebo the WonderOmni asked me the next day if I brought more and kept singing "She's my Hunter's Pie" to the tune of Warrant.

Maryann's Hunter Pie

Step 0, make the pie crust-(double batch) according to Kittee's directions. Make one crust and set the other roll of dough to the side.

Step one, the orgy of veggies and protein:

• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 1 carrot-(get a purple one if you can!)
• 1 t. thyme
• 1/2 t. celery flakes
• turns of black pepper
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3-4 dry sage leaves, crumbled
• Saute this mixture in olive oil

after veggies are browned, add 1/4 c. red kidney beans and 2 c chopped seitan. Once that has browned even more, add 1 c. cubed cooked squash-( I used a mixture of butternut and patty pan)

Step Two, The Heart:

• 1 can of beets, draining the juice and setting aside

Step Three, The Blood:

• 1/2 c. chopped red pepper
• beet juice
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 t. red food coloring-(optional, but it will get you a deeper red color)
• 1/3 c. blood orange juice
• 1 T pom juice

Blend the shit out of this in your blender. It will be very gross.

Assembling the Maenad marriage:
Put veggie and protein orgy in the cooked and cooled pie shell. Pour the red puree over the mixture and top with the raw second pie crust. I made fancy lattice work with a mini heart, but you can do whatever the hell you want.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and allow to cool for about 15-20.

Goes great with a nice green salad of arugula, toasted walnuts, and a simple vinaigrette dressing.