Pot Pie Hot Dish

Brush off the caps with a barely wet paper towel to clean. Slice them, going right through the stems unless they look very dried out.

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and salt. Sauté for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until they’re a little browned but importantly, any liquid has evaporated. If you have liquid in the pan after 8 minutes, keep sautéing until it’s gone. Different mushrooms have higher moisture content, or if they were washed they may have more water, you have to cook that off.

Meanwhile, wash and scrub the carrots (no need to peel) and the potatoes. Chop the potato into 1” pieces, and the carrot slightly smaller. Dice the onion a similar size as the carrot. Mince the garlic finely.

When the mushrooms are done, melt the butter and add the vegetables. Cook for about 4 minutes until they’re becoming soft and fragrant. Add the pepper and dried thyme.

Add the flour to the vegetables and whisk until well coated and then cook for 1 minute. Add ½ of the milk in a slow but steady stream and cook, whisking continuously, until evenly combined. Let it simmer for about 1 minute, then repeat with the remaining milk. Add the vegetable stock. Simmer for about 4 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to an 8 X 11” baking dish (or other 3-quart oven safe dish; a 9 x 13 will be ok, too, but the filling layer will be thinner and you might have to spread the tots out more to cover).
Arrange the tots across the top; it’s ok if they’re still frozen.

Bake until the tots are golden brown, and filling is bubbly (about 25 minutes). If you used frozen tots, it may take an extra 5 minutes.

Scoop into bowls and serve.