It’s almost Sunday and for the millions of us who watch Game of Thrones, that means game night is almost here! I could go off on a tangent talking and hyperventilating about the show. I’m not obsessed, I promise. But I am, Jonathan and I both are intrigued by George R. R. Martin’s imagination. It’s unleashed for sure.
Uninhibited violence, complicated family trees wreaths, breath taking scenery and scary, mysterious ice beast. There is so much transpiring in that world, the fact that dragons exist in this world is kind of an after thought.
I mentioned in my previous post about how we’re learning to have grown-up parties, sans baby. Last week we hosted a GOT watch party. I whipped up a couple GOT themed dishes and our guests brought a banquet of fresh fruits and cheeses and wine, oh my! It was a feast!
Some great recipes resulted from this fine event. I didn’t mean to make up two of them on the spot, but I’m not sure I can follow a recipe to save my life. Or even crack a cookbook for that matter anymore. I plan to adjust (Sansa’s) lemon tart a little bit, but below is the pigeon pie from Joffery’s most famous episode. The direwolf was formed from a quarter of the Tassajara Whole Wheat bread recipe. I guess I do follow some recipes. More about that to come!
The pigeon pie is vegan, made with small pieces of wheat protein (gluten) instead of poultry. I didn’t want to saturate the recipe with ‘add salt,’ but I cannot emphasize enough that anyone remaking this should season according to taste as they go. That’s probably good advice for any recipe though.
If you make this, please comment. Let me know what you think.
I cut my pieces quite small for the broth and had to recut for the baking section because they glued themselves back together as they boiled and enlarged. Follow the recipe and it’ll save time. 
“Pigeon” Pie
{Vegan}
Makes 9-inch pie
PIE CRUST
2 cups unbleached all-purose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled coconut oil
ice water
Add flour, salt and oil to a large chilled bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut the oil slightly smaller than pea-sized pieces. Add 2-3 Tablespoons of water into the bowl, then work quickly to form the ingredients into a dough. Add water as needed, 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too dry. Form into a ball, wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Use the pie pan as a stencil and cut a circle about an inch beyond the edge of the pan. Repeat again for the second dough circle.
Gently press one of the circles into the pan and transfer the other to a sheet tray or a large plate. Keep chilled until use.
• If making the night before, be sure the wrap the crusts around their dishes and freeze. Place in the refrigerator right before making the filling. •
FILLING
2 cups green or brown lentils
2 cups vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon sumac
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7 cups salt-free vegetable or mushroom broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound portobell0 mushrooms
2 large leeks, thinly sliced
6-8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large white or red potato, chopped
salt
Rinse lentils, then place them in a small bowl. Fill the bowl with just enough water to cover the lentils then set aside.
Pour 5 cups of broth and soy sauce into a 3 quart pot, cover and bring to boil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together wheat gluten, garlic salt, sumac and cinnamon. Add remaining 2 cups of broth to the mixture, then mix by hand until a spongy dough is formed. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky, but has a very elastic texture. Use kitchen shears to cut 2-inch pieces of the seitan dough. Add the pieces to the boiling broth. Drop the temperature and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan on medium-high. Sauté leeks with a pinch of salt until they begin to soften. Add garlic and continue for 3-4 minutes or until it becomes fragrant. Toss in mushrooms with another pinch of salt. Stirring occasionally, cook mushrooms until they soften and all the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare a sheet tray with parchment, a light touch of oil or a siltpat.
Use a slotted spoon to remove seitan from the broth. Allow time to cool until they can be handled. Cut the seitan into bite-sized chunks, about 1/2 inch. Spread on the baking sheet 1 to 2 inches apart and bake for 30 minutes. Seitan should be slightly crispy on the outside when finished.
By this time the lentils should have soaked most or all of the water in the small bowl. Place them in a small pot and add just enough of the remaining broth (from the seitan) until they are just covered. Pour the rest of the broth into another small pot. Cook lentils uncovered on medium for about 15 minutes. They should be soft, but still retain their shape.
Add the potato to the small pot of broth. Bring to boil, then simmer until the potato is soft. Remove from heat and carefully blend until smooth. Season gravy to taste.
Increase oven temperature to 425ºF.
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into the pie crust and cover with the additional circular-shaped dough. Press the edges together. Pierce a dime-sized hole into the center, then lightly brush the crust with olive oil. (Sprinkle with salt, optional) Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden.
