You may know by now that in the Jaydriabby household, we are big fans of make-ahead, healthy, cheap (though not necessarily fast) big batch meals to heat up during the week. From start to plate, this took me about an hour and a half while busting my but (it was late and we were hungry), but I’m convinced it would take less time if following this recipe. I was juggling back and forth between a Food Network Vegetarian Shepherds Pie recipe and a *gasp* Vegan Shepherds Pie recipe from the food blog, Making Thyme for Health. It’s the kind of dish where if you were to taste it, it seems to have a secret ingredient. I’ll let you read and find out what that is.
Ingredients
Mashed Potato Parsnip Topping
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large parsnips, peeled and diced
¼ cup butter
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
Filling
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 small yellow onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced (I always double garlic)
3 large carrots, peeled and diced (approx. 1 cup)
16 ounces mushrooms, half button and half cremini/baby bella, chopped (this may seem like a lot but they reduce in size and it was delicious)
1 large celery root, peeled and diced, approx 2 cups
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
1 cup green lentils, rinsed (let soak in hot water while you prepare other ingredients)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
½ cup dry red wine
2 cups vegetable broth
½ cup smoked or sharp cheddar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
What to do
Place potatoes and parsnips in a large pot and cover with heavily salted water by 2 inches. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, start the filling by warming the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, remove from pan and set aside (mine were very liquidy so I actually let them rest in a colander - hey, I went to school for music not cooking. They still tasted great.). Back in the pan, heat up another tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes then add the crushed garlic for about 2 minutes.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, fennel, celery, celery root, and seasonings (thyme, oregano and salt & pepper to taste) and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Pour in the red wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire and bring to a boil.*
Add the soaked and rinsed lentils along with the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, slightly reduce heat to medium and let simmer uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until lentils are soft.**
In a large casserole dish, fill the bottom with the lentils and veggies. Top with a layer of mashed potatoes, spreading them evenly so that they cover the lentils. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Turn on the broil, and broil the dish uncovered for about 5 minutes (but check every minute so it doesn’t burn). You will get golden mashed potato perfection - enjoy!
*I didn’t have an exact timer going while I was making this but if your potatoes are done before the veggies (and obviously before the whole stew is done), just mash them with the milk, butter, salt and pepper, cover it and keep it in the (turned off) oven to stay warm. Another option would be to cut up all the vegetables and then start to boil the potatoes.
**The recipe I referred to originally said to reduce to low but I wanted it to cook quicker so I had it boiling pretty much the entire time, just make sure you stir every 5 minutes or so.
