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:
- That she allowed me past her front door and
- 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:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
- Place dry mince in a bowl with boiling water and stock and leave to soak for about 20 minutes
- In the meanwhile, place potatoes in the steamer and steam for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.
- In a pot, water-sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.
- Add the mushrooms, carrots, and celery and saute for another 5 minutes, adding water as necessary, until softened.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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”.
- 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.
- Spray the top of the mash with a bit of olive oil spray.
- 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.
- 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.