Labbits Like: Noodle Pie

Pipkin apologizes for the mediocre photo and the lack of food prep photos. He got home really late from Keene, NH where he was listening to his friends Maggie (violin), Nell (viola) and Andrew (cello) playing in the Keene Chamber Orchestra. It's a long hop home, and he had to stop to raid Hannaford's, so dinner was really late and the other labbits were starving and didn't want to wait around or help with photos. So all you get is this one photo. You don't even get to see it served up all noodle pie shaped like, but if you like, just imagine a wedge shaped pile of noodles, cheese, broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes. Pretty good, right?  Trust the labbits. This dish tastes ah-MAY-zing! So don't judge a dish by its lack of photogenicness. Print the recipe here.

Noodle Pie
Ingredients:
8 oz dried ribbon egg noodles
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 Tbsp dried marjoram
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 Tbsp dried basil)
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup medium broccoli florets
3/4 cup almond milk (or milk milk)
3 Tbsp unbleached white flour
1 3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preparation:
In a large saucepan, cook the noodles in boiling water until tender but still firm. Drain, rinse and set aside. In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter and saute the garlic for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes more. Stir in the marjoram, basil, oregano, salt and black pepper. Turn off head. Mix in the tomatoes and broccoli.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large saucepan, heat the milk on low heat and sift in the flour, whisking until a thick roux forms. Add the reserved noodles, the mushroom mixture, and three-fourths of the cheese and blend well. Place the mixture in a butter 9" pie pan and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes. (Don't skip the cooling. It's what helps keeps the noodles together so when you slice it up to serve it retains its pie wedge shape.) Serve!

Serves: 4 - 6 labbits.

Oh lookee, I'll sneak in a close up!

Recipe adapted from The Kripalu Cookbook: Gourmet Vegetarian Recipes