Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie For the potatoes 4 potatoes peeled 1 tbsp vegan butter ½ tsp salt ¼ cup 60 ml plant-based milk unsweetened For the filling 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion diced 1 carrot peeled and diced 2 stalks celery diced 8 mushrooms sliced 2 cloves garlic minced ½ cup peas frozen or fresh 2 tbsp vegetable stock ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp dried oregano or any other dried herbs 2 tbsp plain flour or corn starch 2 tbsp soy or tamari sauce 1 can brown lentils drained 1 can chopped tomatoes Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash with butter, milk, and salt. You might not need to use all of the milk, so use common sense and see how much you need (this depends on the starchiness of your potatoes, and adding too much liquid will result in a watery mash). Heat oil in a pan, add the onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom. Cook until the vegetables are tender, then add vegetable stock and peas, and garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute) then add the seasonings and flour. Cook for one more minute. Add soy or tamari sauce, lentils, and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then have a taste and see if you need to adjust seasonings. Boil potatoes until they're tender, then mash with butter, milk, and salt. You might not need to use all of the milk, so use common sense and see how much you need (this depends on the starchiness of your potatoes, and adding too much liquid will result in a watery mash). In an ovenproof dish, add the mixture and spread the mashed potatoes over it evenly. Smooth the potatoes out and create a pattern to decorate using the back of a fork (see picture below). Or just create lines and peaks. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or so, allowing the mixture to bubble. Then lightly brown the top so it's crispy and nice, but be careful as it gets browned pretty quickly. Tips You can use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes in this recipe. You’ll end up with a sweet potato shepherd’s pie. Use any beans and vegetables that you like! I add lentils because I like them, but any other type of beans works perfectly here too. You could also add things like cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, sweet corn, etc. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer you can freeze individual portions for up to 3 months. To make this dish gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce.