Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

The beauty of this recipe lies not only in its simplicity, but also in how easily it can be altered to suit your taste. I rarely make it the same way twice, so for blogging purposes I've decided not to stray too far from the original, which comes from the fantastic vegetarian cookbook, Linda's Kitchen.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Serves 4-6


The ingredients

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbs butter/margarine (Linda calls for 3 oz of margarine, which is 6 tablespoons. I think that's too much unnecessary fat)
2 Tbs skim milk or soy milk
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (12 oz) bag vegetarian mince
2 Tbs soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Amino
1 Cup vegetable stock (I use McKay's chicken-style instant broth)
2 tsp garam masala (easy substitute: ground mace or grated nutmeg)
1 Cup frozen peas
1 Cup mushrooms, chopped (easy substitute: one can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil potatoes in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes, or until soft.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.


3. While potatoes are boiling, melt 2 Tbs butter over medium-low heat in a large frying pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and carrots. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


4. Add peas and garlic, and put lid back on for a few minutes - just until peas are softened.

5. Stir in mushrooms.


6. Add mince, garam masala, soy sauce and veggie broth. Mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer gently, uncovered, for about 8 minutes.


7. While mince mixture is cooking, drain the potatoes. Return them to the pot and mash with milk and remaining butter/margarine. Season with salt and pepper, and cover to keep warm.


8. Pour mince mixture into a baking dish.


9. Spread mashed potatoes over the mixture.


10. Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is browned.* If topping hasn't browned at the end of baking time, pop dish under broiler briefly.


Enjoy!


For added enjoyment, serve with vegetarian gravy.

*NOTE: It's a good idea to put a drip pan on the oven rack below the baking dish, in the event that the filling boils over.

Click for printable recipe.