Meatless Monday with Vegan Samosa Casserole

Welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for the latest edition of our Meatless Monday recipe-share series. The Meatless Monday pledge aims to reduce meat consumption 15% by eliminating it one day per week to preserve planetary health. Miratel supports this great initiative and considers it part of our CSR business strategies as it highlights the connection of the personal choices that we make (like the food we eat) and impact on the environment.

Our recipe today brings all the delicious flavours of a traditional Indian Samosa in one easy to make and low fat “pie”. This great Samosa Casserole recipe comes courtesy of Vegetarian Times. It may seem like a few more steps than feasible for a weeknight meal but you can make this ahead of time, freeze it and then bake it on a Monday (or other) night.

Crust Ingredients

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
  

  Image courtesy of vegetariantimes.com

• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Filling Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ⅛ tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (1 ¼ lb.)
• 1 ½ tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
• 1 medium carrot, diced (½ cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tsp. agave nectar or sugar
• 2 Tbs. soymilk

Directions:

1. To make Crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Stir in oil until clumps form. Add 6 to 10 Tbs. cold water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until dough holds together. Shape into ball, cover with damp towel, and set aside.
2. To make Filling: Stir together mustard seeds, curry, ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes, if using, in bowl; set aside.
3. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return to pot, and mash, leaving small chunks.
4. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, or until carrot is tender. Move onion mixture to side of pan, and add mustard seed mixture in center. Toast 30 seconds. Stir in peas and broth. Fold onion mixture into potato mixture; stir in agave nectar. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread Filling in 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.
5. Roll out Crust dough to 11-inch circle on floured work surface. Cover Filling with dough, pressing down to make sure no air pockets remain. Trim away excess dough, and crimp edges with fingers. Cut X in center to vent steam; brush with soymilk just before baking. Place pie on baking sheet, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
6. Frozen cooking instructions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Place casserole on baking sheet, and bake 75 to 90 minutes, or until Filling bubbles and Crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Feel free to play with the balance of ingredients so they are to your liking – if you prefer to have more liquid you can cut back on the potatoes. If you like it spicier, saltier or sweeter just adjust the appropriate seasoning to your taste. You can also add a can of garbanzo beans to add some protein to the dish or add a bottom crust to make it more like a traditional “pot pie”. Serve with a your favourite garden salad.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the Meatless Monday pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work to promote CSR business initiatives and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.