Hearty Winter Curry Pie

Some days I just love a good curry.  They are usually days when I could use a little comfort.  The soothing flavors of coconut, cream, curry spice, and ginger just make me want to fill up, then sit back with a nice cup of tea, warm slippers, and a good book.

For all intensive purposes, curry should not spark this reaction.  First off, I can hardly call this a comfort food when we were only introduced in the last couple of years!  Comfort foods require fond childhood memories, I should think.  But perhaps I am wrong and they only need warm memories of moments past.  Which this dish certainly has.

I tried a similar curry pie at an Irish pub a few months back that invoked fond memories of my months in the Eire–summer months that were cool enough to invoke a heavily-spiced dish such as curry.  Add to that the fact that I was eating at that particular pub on the cool Oregon coast–when you are as likely to chance an outstandingly lovely day in February as you are in July.

For months I’ve been meaning to recreate the curry pie I had there and seemingly never could get around to it.  With all this cool, gray, rainy weather we’ve finally been getting in the Pacific Northwest lately, the time has come for a comforting dish that warms the inside with good spices and winter veg, and brings fond memories of both a lovely summer in Ireland, and warm beaches on the coast!

Hearty Winter Curry Pie, serves 2-3

drizzle of olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

3 large brown mushrooms, chopped

1 cup cooked kidney beans

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 cup light coconut milk

2 tbs. heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh grated ginger

2 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

small handful raisins

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

• Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and brown for a couple of minutes.
• Add carrots, parsnips, bell pepper, celery, and mushrooms.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and carrots begin to soften.  Stir in beans and frozen peas.
• Add coconut milk, cream, lemon juice and spices.  Modify spices to taste by adding more ginger or cayenne, if necessary.  Stir in raisins and cook for 2 minutes more, until they begin to plump.
• Spoon mixture into a small 2-quart casserole and lay puff pastry over the top.  Cut pastry and crimp to fit pan.  Dash steam vents in top of pastry.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 25-30 minutes and enjoy!