Even though it’s eerily warm here right now (what happened? Novembers used to be cold! Oh yes…global warming); we know the cold nights are soon to be a’ brewin.’
Or at least I hope they are.
Then I get to make this superb (and simple) shepherd’s pie recipe.
It’s quite simply the best shepherd’s pie recipe I’ve found and I’ve served it to plenty of non-vegans who have been so blown away they’ve gushed embarrassingly over it.
It has all the flavour, and all the comfort and stodge you want from a shepherd’s pie, but none of the minced up…um….what animal is mince even from? I just realised I never actually knew this when I used to eat it!! (OK, just googled it, its ground cow).
I found this recipe years ago. It’s originally from a tiny, pocket-size book called Vegan A Go-Go by Sarah Kramer – though I’ve adapted it somewhat and make it a little differently every time.
You’ll maybe want to play around and make it your own too.
You’ll need:
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 small carrots, roughly cubed
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach (or pre-steamed kale or pre-steamed spring greens/collards)
- 1 large celery stalk, chopped
- 1 large beef tomato, chopped (or just 2 big tomatoes if you can’t find a beef tomato)
- splash of olive oil for sauteeing
- 1/2 cup canned green lentils, drained, rinsed and mashed (you can also use dried green lentils – throw 1/2 cup dried lentils in a saucepan of boiling water and boil for 20 mins or until soft. Drain. You might need to measure out 1/2 cup again of the drained lentils – as they will have expanded)
- 1/2 tspn dried basil
- A pinch of rosemary; a pinch of sage; a pinch of thyme and a pinch of parsley – or whichever of these you have
- 2 tspns garlic powder or 2 crushed garlic cloves (or less, or more, to taste)
- 1tbsp Braggs or soy sauce
Topping:
- 3 medium potatoes, roughly chopped – or you can do half white potatoes, half sweet potatoes
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1 tbsp (This is what the recipe says – I use a little less) vegan margarine
- Salt (to taste)
What you do:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
- In a medium pot of water, boil the potatoes. If you are mixing white and sweet potatoes – give the chopped white potato a 5 minute head start before throwing in the chopped sweet potato.
- In a medium saucepan, saute the onions, carrots, celery, tomato, and spinach if you are using it (if you are using kale, add this once you’ve steamed it).
- When the carrots are tender, add the mashed lentils, herbs, garlic and soy sauce.
- Stir and simmer uncovered until the liquid cooks off.
- While the vegetables are cooking, mash the potatoes with the milk, vegan margarine and salt. Then set this aside.
- Pour the vegetable mixture into a greased casserole dish (use the vegan margarine) and push down with the back of a spoon.
- Then layer the mashed potatoes over the top.
- Bake for 15-20 mins
- Grill (broil for US peeps!) for 5 mins at the end so it browns a little on top, like so!
This recipe makes 4 average-sized portions, though to be honest my partner and I often have a couple of servings each and finish off the whole thing!