Alternative (Vegetable) Piecrust

In full disclosure, this is more of a snippet than a full post….

It is great to receive comments/questions/and requests in response to blog posts, and I am writing today to respond to a request for an alternative piecrust for vegetable pies/quiches, and specifically gluten-free, vegan and/or lower-carb substitutions for the traditional wheat-based crust.

In the past, I have used shredded potatoes seasoned with onion or shallot and garlic for a Passover-friendly pie crust, and so I thought I would try using different vegetables to see how they would taste. One alternative, shown above here, uses zucchini and carrots. It is fairly straightforward and tasty.

On the positive side, I found the sauteed vegetables very easy to work with, and they did not require any eggs or other binders to stay put in the pie pan. It also does not require any pastry skill, and definitely gives the look of a pie crust without any flour of any kind. It does not taste the same as a wheat piecrust, of course. I found the flavor to be mild – this is a good thing for a pie crust as the filling should be the real star of the show.

I did have to spread the vegetables a bit thinly and you can increase the quantity of grated zucchini and carrot if you prefer a thicker crust, and you could also substitute other grated vegetables, depending on what you have on hand.

This is a flexible recipe. Here in Israel zucchini is plentiful in early summer, so use what is in season and convenient.

Ingredients

1 T Extra Virgin Olive (EVO) Oil

1 T Sunflower Oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium zucchini squash

1 small carrot

1/4 tsp salt (or just a pinch of salt), black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the EVO and Sunflower Oil in a sauce pan large enough for all of the ingredients.
2. Saute the shallot and garlic until transparent (3 minutes or so)
3. Add grated zucchini and carrot and cook until soft
4. Remove from heat and let the vegetables cool to the point that they can be moulded into a pie pan
5. Bake the vegetable pie crust at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes or until the edges start to look crisp. (If pressed for time, you can skip this step, and add your filling to the crust and bake them together.

If you have been looking for a gluten-free, low-carb pie crust alternative, give it a try and let me know what you think!