Mushroom Stout Pie with Potato Biscuits

I'm just going to go flat out and say it, although I adore everything the queen of vegan cooking, Isa Chandra, stands for, I don't always adore her recipes. I find them to be very hit or miss. But she is pioneering her way into bookstores with her top selling cook books like Vegan with a Vengeance, Veganomicon, and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World- just to name a few. I've been wanting to make this recipe of hers for a while, and a year later- phew- I did it! Honestly, this isn't hard to make, but the thought of schlepping to Total Wine to find a non-Guinness stout was enough to keep me away. I'll totally be making this one again, it is the perfect dish for cold winter weather (not that I can expect much of that down South).

For the stew: 
1 oz dried porcini or mix blend mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried thyme
5 carrots (about 1/2 pound), peeled, sliced into thin half moons
1 1/4 cups stout beer (Caution: many stouts are not vegan friendly, like Guinness,  click here for a list of stouts and their vegan friendly status)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 15 oz BPA-free cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

For the biscuits:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes (refer to bottom for instructions on what to do if you don't have leftover mashed potatoes)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cold water

Make the stew:
Tear the dried mushrooms into bite sized pieces if they aren't already that size. Stick the mushrooms in a large bowl. Boil the vegetable broth, then pour the hot broth over the dried mushrooms and cover with a plate or lid to keep it hot. This step is crucial for re-hydrating the mushrooms. Meanwhile, prep (all the dicing and mincing and such) everything you need for the recipe.

In a stock pot saute the onions in some oil over medium heat until translucent, 4-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add in the sliced fresh mushrooms, celery, thyme, rosmary, and saute for 5 more minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquids and they start to brown a little. Add in the carrots, stout, tomato paste, black pepper, and salt- boil for three minutes. Add in the dried mushrooms along with the broth they've been re-hydrating in. Cover and bring to a full boil for about five minutes, this will finish cooking the dried mushrooms. Careful not to burn the bottom of the stew, stir on occasion.

Now that the dried mushrooms are soft, in a measuring cup combine the flour with one cup of cold water and whisk with a fork until it is clump-free. Turn the heat down to medium and slowly add in water/flour mixture into the pot, mixing as your pour it in. Allow to thicken for five minutes before adding the kidney beans and removing from heat.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. 

Make the biscuits:
In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl mix together the mashed potatoes, olive oil and water. It should be very liquidy and mushy. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the potato mixture. Mix with a fork until a stiff dough starts to form, then turn the dough on to a cleaned counter and knead a few times to smooth out. I flattened my dough out to about 3/4 of an inch thick, next time I would make it thicker (maybe to 1.5 inches) since it didn't rise as much as I expected it to. Cut the dough into pieces, mine are sloppy, large, and awkwardly shaped, you can probably do a better job than I did...

Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour the prepared stew into the casserole dish and line the top with the biscuits you just made. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top, let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

*If you don't have leftover mashed potatoes: don't panic! Isa says: "to make about the cup called for here, microwave a russet potato, and mash with 1/4 cup unsweetened vegan milk, 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let cool, then measure and use!"