Root Vegetable and Mushroom Pie with Rosemary Biscuit Topping

I received a subscription to Bon Appetit for the holidays and I am so happy I did. The photographs, the ideas, the recipes! This is a winner. I decided to swap the flour in the pie mixture with arrowroot powder - it is a great thickener with no weird flavor or texture. The trick is adding it more towards the end (where with flour you need it at the beginning). You could definitely do the BA recipe for biscuits, but I decided to try a gluten free biscuit. Your choice, but I wanted to highlight that this could easily be GF and DF (dairy free), and it is a much more interesting way to get your root vegetables (and it has pretty much every root veg in there!). Much of this can be done ahead, so this can be a slow cooked Sunday meal, or it can be a comforting weeknight meal that you just assemble the night of.

You can find the recipe at:
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/03/root_vegetable_and_mushroom_pie

I have re-posted the recipe, but with my changes here:

Ingredients
filling
6 cups homemade chicken or vegetable broth
2 very large carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 turnip, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms, covered with hot water for 10 minutes. Reserve liquid and chop mushrooms into 1/2 inch chunks
3 tablespoons butter or oil
3 cups chopped onions
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)
2 tablespoons imported dry Sherry
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation
filling

• Bring 6 cups stock to boil in large pot over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve bouillon. Add carrots and next 5 ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; reserve vegetables and broth.
• Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic and rosemary; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved broth. Cook until reduced by about half. Add the arrowroot powder. Then cream and Sherry. Cook until sauce is thick and reduced to 4 cups, whisking often. Mix in reserved vegetables and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to buttered 13x9x2-inch baking dish. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with foil; chill.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake filling, covered, until bubbling, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare biscuits.

biscuits

Pre mix 1 cup rice flour, 1 cup tapioca flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup potato flour

7/8 cup of the flour mixture
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp sucanat
1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoons butter or vegan non-hydrogenated margarine
1/2 cup buttermilk

In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until it resembles the size of peas. Stir in the buttermilk and work gently until the dough forms a ball. Roll out onto a dusted surface and roll to about 3/4" thickness. Cut the dough into rounds. Lay on top of the vegetable mix.

Final Preparation

Lay biscuit dough atop hot filling by heaping tablespoonfuls; sprinkle with pepper. Bake uncovered until tester inserted into center of biscuits comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.