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Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 47 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home Blog
  • Prep Time: 45 mins
  • Cook Time: 60 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Main, vegan, entree
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: English
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This Vegetarian Shepherds Pie recipe is made with a savory mushroom and root vegetable filling, topped with creamy, pillowy mashed potatoes. Vegan-adaptable. 


Ingredients

Units Scale

Mashed Potato Topping:

  • 3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled (or russets, peeled), quartered or diced.
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, butter or or vegan butter
  • 1/2 cup vegan sour cream ( like Kite Hill Sour cream) or regular sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon truffle oil (optional but amazing)
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/21 teaspoon nutritional yeast- optional!

Filling

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
  • 1 large onion, diced (or sub 2 cups leeks)
  • 1 lb sliced mushrooms (cremini, button, shiitake, portobello, chanterelles or a mix)
  • 1 1/2 cups celery, diced (or sub part or all fennel bulb)
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled, diced in small 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups parsnips, peeled, diced in small 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans (or sub cubes of roasted sunchokes, cannellini beans, lentils, browned vegan “ground meat”, or seitan, etc.
  • 6 cloves garlic- rough chopped
  • 1 tsp salt, more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves ( or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (or sub water plus 1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider vinegar)
  • 4 tablespoons flour ( or use GF flour)
  • 3 cups rich veggie stock, (see notes) warmed, mixed with 2 teaspoon miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375
  2. Start with the mashed potatoes. Cut yukon gold potatoes, into halves or quarters. Make sure the pieces are similar in size. Place in a large pot, cover with an inch of water with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and simmer until knife tender about 20-25 minutes. Drain, saving 1 cup of potato water. 
  3. Make the stew: In a very large heavy bottom pot, heat oil over med heat.  Saute onions and mushrooms for 7-8 minutes (see notes), until fragrant, then add parsnips, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper stirring for 1o mins until carrots are al dente and mushrooms give off their liquid. Cook off the liquid.
  4. Deglaze with 1/2 cup wine, scraping up any brown bits.  Let simmer on med-low until carrots/parsnips are perfectly tender and wine has cooked off. Add the peas and white beans.
  5. Sprinkle the veggies with 4 tablespoons flour ( or use GF flour) and stir it for about 2 minutes letting the flour cook a bit.
  6.  Add 1 cup warm veggie broth to the pot, stirring until the stew thickens, then stir in the remaining broth a cup at a time, simmering, and letting it thicken.
  7. Add the mustard.  Turn off heat.
  8.  Taste for salt, and add more to taste, and more cracked pepper if you like too. Add a few drops of apple cider vinegar to brighten, tasting as you add. Stir in the fresh parsley.
  9. Finish the Potatoes: Place the drained potatoes back into the potato pot. Mash with a potato masher and add olive oil, vegan sour cream,  granulated roasted garlic, salt, pepper and optional truffle oil and nutritional yeast.  Add a 1/4 cup- 1/2 cup of the hot potato water to loosen them ( easier to spread).Whip them up until creamy with the masher! Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
  10. Assemble:  Scoop the filling into a greased, large 9×13 inch baking dish, or a large oven-proof cast iron skillet or dutch oven, or smaller individual-sized baking dishes, or ramekins. ***At this point you could divide your stew mixture – adding cooked chicken, lamb or beef to part of it for meat-eaters. (For example, I like my shepherd’s pie, without meat. My husband likes his with meat, so I divide it, adding cooked lamb to his portion. When having guests over, you could do half and half if you like.)
  11. Spoon the creamy mashed potatoes over the stew, or use a piping bag and pipe out the potatoes over the stew. If potatoes seem too dry to pipe, whip in a little more hot potato water to them and they will loosen up nicely. Drizzle the top with a little truffle oil.
  12. Bake: Place baking dish or individual pies on a sheet-pan to catch the drippings, in a preheated 375F oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 20-30 minutes.
  13. Garnish with Fresh parsley or a sprig of thyme.

Notes

The filling can be made ahead and refrigerated (let it come to room temp before baking) and then assemble the shepherd pie before baking. I find making the potatoes the same day makes for lighter fluffier potatoes, but if in a pinch, assemble the whole thing ahead and refrigerate. Let come to room temp before baking.

Veggie Stock: I use 3 cups water plus 3 teaspoons of veggie bouillon paste, heat this up, and stir in the miso paste. This gives the stew a flavorful base.

Mushrooms: To elevate this dish, pan-sear the mushrooms in olive oil FIRST, season lightly with salt and pepper, cooking until they release all their liquid and let them caramelize a bit. Set them aside while you saute the onions and veggies, then add them back in with the wine.

The original recipe call for sunchokes– which add great flavor here, but can be hard to find. ( So I subbed white beans) If using sunchokes, wash well, no need to peel, cut into a medium dice and roast with a little olive oil salt and pepper in a 400F oven until a little crispy, first for the BEST flavor. Then add to the stew with the peas.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: -with White beans and Truffle oil
  • Calories: 288
  • Sugar: 7.9 g
  • Sodium: 745.1 mg
  • Fat: 13.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 36.1 g
  • Fiber: 8.1 g
  • Protein: 8.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg