Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
I stumbled across a recipe for Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and it piqued my interest. I liked all of the things that went into it and I love Shepherd's Pie so I thought I would give it a shot. As usual I took several different recipes and cobbled it into one of my own and oh man, it turned out a million times better than I thought it would. As a matter of fact I might actually like this better than my meaty Shepherd's Pie and my meaty version is pretty damned good.
I used mushrooms in it to help give it a meaty, earthy flavor but you could easily do this without them and it would be just as good. You can also use whatever kind of mushrooms you like best, I went with what they had fresh and in bulk at the grocery store.
This is a vegetarian recipe but I think it can be altered to be vegan fairly easily. The only real trick is the mashed potatoes but I know my vegan friends know how to make some pretty good vegan mashed potatoes!
1 cup brown lentils cooked in vegetable broth
2 cups Savory Mashed Potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion (white or yellow), diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cups fresh green beans, in 1" pieces
4 oz shiitake mushrooms
10 oz cremini mushrooms
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste (the kind in the tube is best IMO)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large frying pan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over med-high heat until the onions are tender, about 3-5 minutes
3. Add the carrots, celery and green beans and cook until the carrots are tender, about 3-5 minutes
4. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, rosemary, cayenne, and pepper and saute for approximately 4-5 minutes, sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over the mixture and cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and flour and cook until veggies are fully coated and a pasty mix starts coating the bottom of pan or forming on the mixture. I use a ceramic pan so it doesn't really form the pasty mix on the bottom of the pan but it's pretty easy to tell when it starts to come together.
6. Add the broth and stir everything together to dissolve the flour and tomato past mixture. bring to a simmer and let it cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. Stir in the cooked lentils and the peas and heat through.
7. Pour the lentil/veggie mixture into a 13" x 9" pan or casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Try and make some little peaks with the potato mixture as they will brown up really nicely and make the dish look extra pretty.
8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the oven and turn the broiler on. Once it's heated to broil, put the pan back into the oven under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown up the potatoes. Be sure to keep an eye on it as shit can burn REALLY fast under the broiler.
Once it's browned, remove from the oven and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes to cool down and set and then serve!
Tomorrow I will be working with another new dish - Yellow Split Pea Curry with Crispy Veggies. Recipe to follow once I make it up!
I used mushrooms in it to help give it a meaty, earthy flavor but you could easily do this without them and it would be just as good. You can also use whatever kind of mushrooms you like best, I went with what they had fresh and in bulk at the grocery store.
This is a vegetarian recipe but I think it can be altered to be vegan fairly easily. The only real trick is the mashed potatoes but I know my vegan friends know how to make some pretty good vegan mashed potatoes!
1 cup brown lentils cooked in vegetable broth
2 cups Savory Mashed Potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion (white or yellow), diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cups fresh green beans, in 1" pieces
4 oz shiitake mushrooms
10 oz cremini mushrooms
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste (the kind in the tube is best IMO)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large frying pan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over med-high heat until the onions are tender, about 3-5 minutes
3. Add the carrots, celery and green beans and cook until the carrots are tender, about 3-5 minutes
4. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, rosemary, cayenne, and pepper and saute for approximately 4-5 minutes, sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over the mixture and cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and flour and cook until veggies are fully coated and a pasty mix starts coating the bottom of pan or forming on the mixture. I use a ceramic pan so it doesn't really form the pasty mix on the bottom of the pan but it's pretty easy to tell when it starts to come together.
6. Add the broth and stir everything together to dissolve the flour and tomato past mixture. bring to a simmer and let it cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. Stir in the cooked lentils and the peas and heat through.
7. Pour the lentil/veggie mixture into a 13" x 9" pan or casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Try and make some little peaks with the potato mixture as they will brown up really nicely and make the dish look extra pretty.
8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the oven and turn the broiler on. Once it's heated to broil, put the pan back into the oven under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown up the potatoes. Be sure to keep an eye on it as shit can burn REALLY fast under the broiler.
Once it's browned, remove from the oven and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes to cool down and set and then serve!
Tomorrow I will be working with another new dish - Yellow Split Pea Curry with Crispy Veggies. Recipe to follow once I make it up!
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