A Vegetarian Sheperds Pie Even A Cattleman Can Love

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Most weeks I let Cynthia pick what we have for Meatless Monday dinner. I'm never disappointed, This week however, over the weekend I asked her to make a lentil Sheperds Pie. I had been bouncing around the internet and had seen a couple of different vegetarian recipes. We both love traditional Sheperds Pie, so it seemed a good idea to try a vegetarian version.

As she typically does, Cynthia decided to use the recipe as the only slightest of suggestions. What we ended up with was a lentil and mushroom Sheperds Pie that was richly satisfying and gave both a mouth feel and taste that was distinctively "meaty" but was completely vegetarian.

Here's what she came up with.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup French green lentils
1 small onion

4 cloves

1 garlic clove

8 oz package of baby portobello mushrooms, diced
2 tsp grape seed oil
1 small shallot

1/2 tsp thyme

 1/4 cup Maderia
1 oz sweet butter

2 carrots, 1/4 inch diced

1 leek, white part in 1/2 inch dice, green part fine chopped

1 small turnip, 1/2 inch dice

1 stalk celery, 1/4 inch dice

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp gravy master

1/2 cup mushroom stock, made from Better than Bullion

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn

 4-5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

Preparation (Lentils)

• Cook lentils in water with the garlic, thyme and the small onion studded with 4 cloves Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, 30-45 minutes. Set aside.

Preparation (Vegetables)

• Fry mushrooms in a very hot pan with a small pat of butter and grape seed oil (for vegan, all grape seed oil)
• Add finely chopped shallot and then de-glaze pan with Madeira (Marsala, Port, Cognac, and even water will work if you prefer no alcohol)
• Add carrots, leeks, turnips and celery
• Add butter (for vegan, not dairy substitute), flour, Gravy Master and mushroom stock
• Salt and pepper to taste. Cook to a firmness you prefer
• Add frozen peas just long enough to defrost. (in season, fresh peas would be nice)
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and combine with lentils

  
Preparation (Potatoes)

• Simmer quartered potatoes in milk (we use milk to add a creaminess to our mashed potatoes, for vegan, use water). You can mix in turnip, parsnip, celeriac, apples, rutabaga, sauteed cabbage or onion or both, fresh herb pesto to make the potatoes as fancy as you want....you get the idea)

• When cooked mash the potatoes and fold the frozen corn into the mash.

Preparation (the final dish)

• Butter (or vegan substitute) a 10# casserole dish (it should be at least 2" deep)
  
• Add vegetable and lentil mix.

• Spoon, pipe or add anyway you like (be creative!) the potato and corn on top of the vegetables (we would also consider polenta in place of the potatoes)

• Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the potatoes began to brown and the vegetables are bubbling. Remove from oven and serve steaming hot. Enjoy!