Vegan“Meat” Pies
I am 50% British, and back before I became vegan, I loved me a meat pie. I loved it so much that I can switch over to describing this in the present tense, saying that I currently LOVE meat pies, but of course- without real meat.
I love all foods that are encased in a pastry (I mean- is there anyone out there who doesn’t?). Cornish pasties are my favorite (and have a cool history around them), I think because of the potatoes. Whenever we traveled to England to visit relatives we often took day trips up to the Yorkshire Dales. On these jaunts, at one point we pulled off to the side of a country road for a picnic lunch, which almost always included pork pies. The pork would be surrounded by a layer of pure fat which, in thinking of it now makes me emit a ‘BLECH!’ sound and do a weird thing by shaking my head with my tongue out of my mouth (can you picture this?). But still, back then, I DOVE in.
When I was a teenager and did highland dancing, one of the best parts of going to highland games was to head to the meat pie vendor after our competition was over. We stood in line and drooled over the menu, feeling more panicked as we got closer to the front. On each occasion, would I choose a standard meat pie, a sausage roll, or a bridie? One of each?, a couple of the same? Ack- deciding was so hard! After so many runs at it, I learned that the bridie was always my favorite (probably because it was closest to the Cornish pasty).
This is probably not a post you would expect someone who has been vegan for almost 8 years to write, but I have a history with these comfort foods and me being vegan now and wanting to save all the cows and pigs in the world doesn’t change what I enjoyed in the past. Saying that though, I am thrilled to now return to some of these special meals from a vegan lens, because so much is possible with this. Not even with processed meat alternatives either, but with lentils, mushrooms, and onions. Why did no one think of this before?
Imagine my surprise then, when I flipped through our new cookbook, plantyou scrappy cooking, by Carleigh Bodrug (I previously wrote about her plantyou cookbook). This cookbook isn’t completely oil-free, though she includes oil-free options, making it a little more mainstream for those who are starting to eat more plant-based. There are many food ‘projects’ in there, which I enjoy (I currently have a strawberry vinegar set up on our countertop using leftover strawberry tops and white vinegar- p. 348). And there, on p. 234, what did I come upon? “Vegan Meaty Hand Pies." I legitimately almost cried when I saw it. I would be able to enjoy a “meat” pie again?!
In keeping with our World Cup country-themed cooking, we made these on Tuesday when England played Ghana (which resulted in a draw– what we can expect from this team moving forward remains a mystery for now). My husband whipped together a pseudo-homemade HP sauce with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (vegan!), which did the trick!
Pepperidge Farms puffed pastry is actually vegan, because they use oil rather than butter. Obviously this is not a whole food plant-based meal, and these types of processed oils are AWFUL for you, but it is summer, and having a splurge like this, and traveling back down memory lane, was really lovely.
