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We’re marching into spring as March arrives, and a plethora of spring produce arrives in grocery stores. Asparagus, strawberries, basil, spring greens, green beans and papaya start blooming into season, while hearty winter greens (like kale and chard), winter squash, citrus (from tangerines to Meyer lemons) and broccoli still linger.

March is one of those in-between months, where it’s not quite spring, but not quite winter either. I call it “sprinter”.

This creates an odds-and-ends pile of groceries in my fridge that I don’t usually know what to do with.   

Enter this gardener’s pie: a vegetarian play on traditional Irish shepherd’s, or cottage, pie. This dish is an easy way to use up leftovers to create an odds-and-ends melange. And might I add, this pie is served in a pretty impressive manner.

So–in honor of Pi Day and St. Patrick’s Day this month–let’s make pie!

“Sprinter” Gardener’s Pie:

Serves 4             Time: around 90 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 8 oz. of green beans, halved
• 8-10 small radishes, quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 onions, sliced into rings
• 2 cups of mashed potatoes (I used homemade, but store-bought will work perfectly)
• 3 tablespoons of pesto (either homemade or storebought will work)

Instructions:

1. Roast your veggies on two sheet pans. On one, layer the vegetables in this order: onions on bottom, followed by radishes, then peppers. Nestle in the garlic as well. Then drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. You could add some dried herbs too, if you’re feeling fancy.
2. Roast this pan for 40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
3. On the second sheet pan, toss your green beans and carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper (and again, dried herbs if you prefer).

Everyone loves pie for dessert, but it seems that no one remembers that pie first started as a savory dish. In the Dark Ages, the first pies were filled with meat or veggies. As pie evolved, it became more popular and common to use sweet fillings like berries, chocolate, cream and the ever-patriotic apple. While I adore dessert pies, I’ve recently discovered these pies filled with savory goodness. Herbs, veggies and butter fill these pies. And as a lover of all pies, I whole-heartedly approve non-dessert pies like this one.

So eat pie for dinner! Or lunch! Or any meal you want! Pie doesn’t need to be relegated to dessert anymore.