Potato and Black Bean Pie (No Added Fat)

My wife recently picked up a lot of potatoes. I thought I'd try a potato pie. I had one frozen whole wheat pie shell left. I recently made pizza with it and, since this shell is really meant for lighter desserts, the pie fell apart a bit when I served. My fear for that with my vegetable pie proved true, and I should try more hearty crusts or maybe a double crust for main courses. Anyway, this is what I did.


Ingredients

• 4 cups Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes cut into 3/8" slices (I used 3 medium yellow potatoes)
• 1/2 cup shallot cut into 1/4" slices (I used a big shallot that yielded the 1/4 cup with slices about 1 1/4" x 1/4")
• 1 cup frozen sliced mushroom
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 15 ounce can black beans, well rinsed - about 2 cups
• 9" pie shell (I used a whole wheat one)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/3 t salt
• 1/3 t fresh ground black pepper

Process

1. I cooked the potatoes in boiling water for about 13 minutes (or until the potato was cooked at the edges but almost cooked in the center - a fork could be pressed in with a little bit of effort)
2. I then added in the shallot and frozen vegetables and cooked for 4 more minutes
3. I drained and put these cooked ingredients into a bowl, and mixed in the beans (if I had used fresh mushrooms and peas, I could have added them at this point instead of to the boiling water) and seasonings
4. I filled the pie shell (and, in fact, had a bit extra filling) and cooked, uncovered, in a preheated 375°F oven for about 13-15 minutes till the crust was done.

I served with grilled "ArtiHeart" artichokes and an interesting salad, tomato and olive with a little Ume plum vinegar, salt, black pepper, and oregano, plus pieces of a small tangerine.

Results

Wow! We all loved dinner. I was thinking that I might need a sauce for the pie, such as, perhaps, a tomato (or, for my wife and me, a spicy arrabiata) sauce. I did sprinkle a little vegan cheese on my daughter's serving, but really the pie was better than I expected, other than its not holding together.

Ideas for the future

I should make more pies with appropriate crusts. Maybe a covered pie? The seasonings turned out, we all felt, to be just right tonight, so I can't think of any improvements to the pie. I could make similar pies but incorporate other vegetables and maybe seitan instead of beans.