Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie

This meatless take on a classic comfort food is not only hearty, but it’s filled with robust flavors and you will not miss the meat.

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

For Potatoes

• 3 lbs (8-9 medium) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP table salt
• sea-salt to taste
• dash of fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

 

• Add potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling add 2 TBSP of salt, and cook until potatoes are tender.
• Drain well then return potatoes to the pot.
• Add buttermilk and butter to the potatoes and mash until smooth. Add sea-salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, give it a good stir to mix the seasoning in and set aside.

For Vegetables

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• TBSP butter
• 2 pounds mushrooms (Portobella are meaty and good ones to use), cut into cubes
• 1 small Vidalia onion (or any other sweet onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
• 2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped finely
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• 2 TBSP all purpose flour
• 1 cup broth (vegetable, chicken or beef, your choice)
• sea-salt
• freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350F
• In a saute pan, heat oil and add mushrooms along with 1/2 tsp. salt, and make sure you don’t overcrowd the mushrooms, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To the mushroom pan, add: onion, carrots, parsley, rosemary and season with 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of black pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
• Stir in: minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• Sprinkle flour over this mixture, stirring to coat all the vegetables and let cook for 3 minutes.
• Add broth, peas, corn and stir for 5 minutes.
• Turn heat off and spoon the vegetables in a casserole dish.
• Top with the mashed potatoes in an even layer. (If you want, you could add a few dollops of butter on top of the mashed potatoes.)
• Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the broiler on and broil for 5 minutes.