Vegetable pot pie with cacio e pepe filo crust is my new favourite pot pie recipe – a vegetarian pot pie with a colourful veggie and creamy gravy filling, and topped with a cheese and pepper filo pastry crust.
Okay, honesty first. Yes, the cacio e pepe filo pastry crust takes a little more work than just placing a square of puff pastry over the top of the ramekin and calling it a day. And there is nothing wrong with a puff pastry crust, nothing at all!
But it’s not crispy, flaky, cheesy and bold.
Break through the cheesy (cacio) and peppery (pepe) crust to the vegetables in gravy below, and there’s not much that can take out the top contender for comfort food after you’ve tasted this pot pie… apart from maybe some luxurious, butter forward mash. But anyways…
This Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Filo Crust is:
- filled with so many colourful vegetables
- topped with a flavourful crust that complements the veggies
- super creamy
- endlessly adaptable, both in flavours and size
- comfort food at its best.
Watch me make the filo pastry spiral:
Ingredients and Substitutions for Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Filo Crust
- The vegetables. For this version, I used a combination of leek, pumpkin, silver beet, broccoli, capsicum, mushrooms, corn and peas. But really, you can use whatever veggies you like or have on hand. As long as you have roughly a big bowlful of cut up veggies, you’re good to go. If you use potatoes, make sure to give them some extra time to cook before adding the other veggies.
- The herbs. At a minimum, you must use some thyme, and fresh thyme if you can get it. But a combination of thyme, sage and rosemary offers a more complex flavour and stands up the creamy gravy.
- The gravy. The butter the veggies are sautéed in, plus some vegetable stock (chicken will work if you’re not vegetarian), a little flour, some cream and a little Dijon mustard makes a luxurious gravy for the veggies to soak up. You can sub milk for the cream, but you might also need to add a little more flour as well. You can also skip the mustard entirely if it’s not to your taste. Or you can add about a teaspoon of mustard powder instead.
- The pine nuts. I had them, so I added them. Necessary? No. Delicious? Yes! Your call.
- The filo pastry crust. You’ll need roughly eight sheets of filo pastry to make one large, family style pot pie. You’ll butter those sheets and then sprinkle over the pecorino and black pepper. Purists will argue that it MUST be pecorino, and while that’s true, if parmesan is all you’ve got or can get, it’ll work just as beautifully and taste just as amazing. Just don’t swap the black pepper for white… completely different flavours!
How to Make Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Filo Crust
- Prep. Put on some music and chop, chop, chop away until you have a large bowl full of vegetables – but keep the leek separate. While you’re at it, prep your herbs and grate the pecorino for the pastry crust.
- Cook the vegetables. Sauté the leek in some butter until it’s soft and just starting to caramalise. Add the rest of the veggies, the stock, and cover with a lid to steam cook. Cook until the vegetables are just knife tender.
- Make gravy. To the cooked veggies and residual butter and stock add the flour and stir. Let the flour cook out for a couple of minutes before adding the cream and mustard, and gently stirring to combine. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Make filo pastry crust. Working with one sheet at a time, brush the filo pastry with melted butter and sprinkle over the pecorino and black pepper mix. Starting from a short end, roll up the filo pastry into a log. Slice the filo log in half to expose the layers and filling. Gently spread it open and then layer each piece on top of the cooked veggie mixture in a scroll shape, starting from the centre and working your way out to the edges.
- Bake. Brush the filo scroll crust with the remaining melted butter and bake in a 190C oven for 30-40 minutes or until the filo pastry is golden brown and crispy. Let sit for a few minutes before serving with a simple side salad.
Looking for More Comfort Food? Try These:
- Baked Ricotta with Aleppo Chilli and Mint
- Smashed Potatoes with Herbs and Feta
- Parmesan Broth Minestrone with Pistou
- Mushroom and Cauliflower Gratin
- Spaghetti Alfredo with Mushrooms and Peas
If you make this Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Crust, please be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!
Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Filo Crust
Vegetable pot pie with cacio e pepe filo crust is my new favourite pot pie recipe – a vegetarian pot pie with a colourful veggie and creamy gravy filling, and topped with a cheese and pepper filo pastry crust
Print
Pin
Email
Rate
Servings: 6 serves
Ingredients
For the Pot Pie Filling
- 1 leek
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 50 g butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 150 g pumpkin, roughly
- 1 broccoli
- 1 capsicum
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 5 mushrooms
- 1 corn
- ½ cup peas
- 2 silver beet leaves
- 2 tablespoons mixed herbs, sage, rosemary and thyme
- 1 ½ tablespoons flour
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
For the Pot Pie Crust
- 100 g unsalted butter, melted
- 50 g pecorino, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- 8-12 filo pastry sheets
Instructions
- Start by prepping all the vegetables. Slice the leek into half moon rounds and set aside. Then chop all the other vegetables into even pieces and set aside in a different bowl. Finely slice all the herbs and again set aside.1 leek
- If you’re going to use pine nuts, or other nuts, toast them now over low heat in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Tip out into a bowl and set aside to cool.2 tablespoons pine nuts
- In an oven proof frying pan with high sides, melt the 50g of butter over medium heat. Sauté the leek until starting to soften and brown around the edges, 3-5 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, the pumpkin, broccoli and capsicum, and the stock. Stir and cover with a lid to steam cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the broccoli and pumpkin is just about knife tender.50 g butter, 2 garlic cloves, 150 g pumpkin, 1 broccoli, 1 capsicum, ¼ cup vegetable stock
- Add the mushrooms, corn, peas and silver beet and cook for a further 3 minutes. If there’s a lot of liquid, drain most of it off, keeping about 2 tablespoons of liquid.5 mushrooms, 1 corn, ½ cup peas, 2 silver beet leaves
- Add the flour and herbs and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw flour. Then gradually add the cream and mustard, and continue to stir until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. Season with salt and set aside to cool slightly while you make the filo pastry crust.2 tablespoons mixed herbs, 1 ½ tablespoons flour, 200 ml heavy cream, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Preheat the oven to 190C. To make the filo pastry crust, start by melting the butter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the pecorino and black pepper.100 g unsalted butter, 50 g pecorino, 1 tablespoon black pepper
- Working with 1 sheet at a time, brush the filo pastry with melted butter and sprinkle over 1/8th of the cheese and pepper mix.8-12 filo pastry sheets
- Starting from the short end, roll up each filo pastry sheet into a log, and then slice each filo log in half to expose the layers and filling. Using your fingers, gently tease apart the layers.
- Lay each piece on top of the pot pie filling in a scroll shape, starting from the centre and working your way to the edges.
- Once the vegetable mixture is covered by the filo pastry coil, brush the filo all over with the remaining butter and scatter over any remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the filo pastry is golden brown, crispy and cooked through.
- Let the vegetable pot pie with cacio e pepe filo pastry crust sit for 5 minutes before serving with a fresh side salad.
Cook along with me
Notes
- Leftovers can be stored for 2-3 days if tightly covered and kept in the fridge.
- To reheat leftovers, place the desired amount in an oven-proof dish and place into a preheated 190C oven and heat until warmed through, around 10 minutes. (Microwaving pot pie leftovers will result in a soft and possibly soggy filo pastry, do not recommend!)
- For substitutions, check out the ingredient section in the post above.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritional advice.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @food_daydreaming or tag #fooddaydreaming on instagram. I love seeing what you all come up with!
Nutrition
Calories: 473.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.96g | Protein: 9.82g | Fat: 37.23g | Saturated Fat: 22.25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.73g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.79g | Trans Fat: 0.41g | Cholesterol: 97.03mg | Sodium: 482.26mg | Potassium: 678.93mg | Fiber: 4.34g | Sugar: 5.19g | Vitamin A: 2602.8IU | Vitamin C: 70.59mg | Calcium: 195.49mg | Iron: 3.49mg
