I know the time for winter food is coming to an end (although we’re right at that moment in Melbourne where you think it will never be warm again HOLY SHIT FFS), but the nights are still plenty chilly enough for comfort carbs. Vegetarian shepherd’s pie is top of my list for exactly that.
My favourite way to eat this is a big serve in a big bowl, drenched in tomato sauce, and me sitting on the couch with a fork. It ain’t fine dining, it’s savoury and rich with mashed potatoes and basically all the things I love in a bowl.
As usual, I’m pretty stoked to be back in my own kitchen again after an awesome weekend of learning learns and friending friends at the ProBlogger Training Event. I had such a rad time this year and I left with an Evernote packed full of notes. I’m cooking up something for next year that I’m deadly excited about! My head is swimming. But I love being home and pottering around domestically, too. There’s nothing quite like standing barefoot in the kitchen, in front of an open fridge, eating pickles straight out of the jar.
Hope it’s warming up where you are 🙂
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A rich, savoury vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie: the best version of a comfort food favourite. Grab a couch and a fork and dig in!
Ingredients
- 4 Large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 Large onions, peeled and sliced
- 1 Large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 2 cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 Large bay leaf
- 3 cups meat substitute of your choice ((faux mince, cooked green or brown lentils, chopped mushrooms, tvp, whatever floats your boat. I tried faux mince here))
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce ((Spring Gully brand is vegan if you need))
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 2 teaspoons plain flour
- 4 beef-style stock cubes (I use Massell stock, or you can use veggie stock cubes or veggie stock)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 splash milk
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring your diced potatoes to a boil with water to cover.
- In an even larger oven-proof pot, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic over medium-low heat until onions are translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except milk and butter, and bring to a boil.
- Simmer as long as you need to have a reduced, thick, savoury sauce. I like to simmer for an hour, but you do what works for you. If you are using lentils, it will be different timings whether you add them raw or already cooked, but at the end, make sure you have a reasonably thickened sauce.
- When the potatoes are soft, drain and mash with the butter and a splash of milk.
- Spread the mashed potato on top of your savoury sauce and dot with butter.
- Pop in a 200C oven for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbling and the top of the potatoes starts to brown.
Keywords: vegetarian shepherds pie, meatless shepherds pie, vegetarian cottage pie, meatless cottage pie
Shepherd’s pie is a winter warmer of the best kind. I can’t stomach the faux meat but I love the sound of lentils. Pielicious!
Yes, so you keep saying! Lentils are cool 🙂
Winter is waning in Sydney and although it has been cold I don’t feel like I’ve had time to get through all the winter warming classics.
Ha even I’ve thought that! There’s still so much to go! although definitely not waning here, sadly 🙁
Dude, it was 25 here on the weekend!! One of my kids was running around naked & even stepped in the pool!! It was so good & reminded me that the cold days won’t last forever, even though today is grey, wet & cold. Again.
Ha my kids are naked but it’s cold af here
I truly think kids do not feel the cold EVER!I’ve watched my teenager go to school when it’s 6 degrees in just short sleeves. Bonkers!
haha yeah matt says the same thing about his students. I do not get it!
This looks awesome!
It’s even better with the potatoes 😉