Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

When Jessica Kotlowitz (AKA “The Green Dietitian) invited me into her home to show me how to make a VEGAN SHEPHERD’S PIE I was surprised by two things:

1. That she allowed me past her front door and
2. That this turned out to be one of the most delicious dishes I had ever eaten!

Vegan, Protein-Packed and Nutritiously-Balanced…

Ingredients:

For the “mince”:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 125g brown/ Portobello mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup dry soya mince + 1 ½ cups boiling water + 3 tsp beef-flavoured stock
• ½ cup cooked/ tinned brown lentils
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 1 small tin tomato paste (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 tsp beef-flavoured stock

For the mash:

• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves roasted garlic*
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or more to desired consistency)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
• Nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp nutmeg and cinnamon/ all spice
• Olive oil spray/ non-stick spray
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
2. Place dry mince in a bowl with boiling water and stock and leave to soak for about 20 minutes
3. In the meanwhile, place potatoes in the steamer and steam for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.
4. In a pot, water-sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.
5. Add the mushrooms, carrots, and celery and saute for another 5 minutes, adding water as necessary, until softened.
6. Add mince, with soaking liquid, wine, lentils, beef-flavoured stock and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until carrots and celery are softened, stirring every couple of minutes and adding extra water as necessary.

1. In the meanwhile, add the steamed potatoes, roasted garlic, almond milk and mustard to a bowl and mash until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add the “mince” mixture into a small casserole dish and cover with the mash mixture. Spread the mash mixture out evenly so that it completely covers the “mince”.
3. Using a fork, score the top of the mash in a criss-cross pattern, then sprinkle the nutmeg and cinnamon on top of the mash.
4. Spray the top of the mash with a bit of olive oil spray.
5. Place casserole dish in the oven and bake at 180 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven on to “grill” function and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown.
6. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve with a salad of choice.

*To roast your own garlic, take a whole head of garlic and cut off the top to expose the cloves. Wrap in foil and put in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Watch us make it on my YouTube Channel and visit Jessica’s website.