Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

One of the great things about working in an agricultural college is that behind our buildling are a series of small allotments and a greenhouse for undergraduate students to practice propagating plants and designing gardens.  This year, the wonderful and generous staff in the greenhouse agreed to let us PhD students take a whack at growing things in one of the empty plots.  We started out with great gusto and big ideas, which gradually fell by the wayside as we all realised how frantically busy we are already...but we did manage to plant out some veg, herbs, and strawberries earlier this year, and are now reaping the benefits!

Last week I harvested the first of our potatoes, which was so exciting I knew we had to eat them right away!  Thus, this delicious shepherd's pie came into existence, even though it's 'summer' here (not that it's being summer has actually meant much of an increase in temperature or decrease in rain).

I used peas to mix things up, as we'd just got back from a holiday in America, where we ate fresh corn nearly every day.  I knew the stuff you get here couldn't compete, but peas make an excellent alternative in this dish!

We also recently invested in a Misto, which is a refillable spray bottle that you can pump up to aerate your oil, meaning you get a good mist without having to use all the horrible chemicals in aerosols.  I really highly recommend this for vegan cooking - there are so many cases where a vegan meal missed the perfect crispy, browned top, because of the lack of cheddar.  Not any more!  If you don't have anything similar to spray oil with, you can always drizzle some on top, but spraying gives better control and coverage, I find.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Total time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4 as a main meal

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp vegan margarine

2 tbsp soy milk

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil, for frying

250g (2 cups) mushrooms, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced/crushed

300g (2 cups) vegan minced 'beef'

1/2 tsp boullion powder

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

4 tsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1 tbp flour (or 2 tsp corn starch, if making gluten free)

1/2 - 1 cup soy milk

salt and pepper to taste

400g (3 cups) frozen peas

 First, prepare the mashed potato topping by peeling and chopping the potatoes, and boiling until just soft, about 8 minutes (you should be able to break a piece of potato apart with the blunt side of a knife using moderate pressure).  Drain, add the remaining ingredients, and mash until smooth.  Set aside.

While the potatoes are boiling, fry the mushrooms in about 1 tbsp olive oil until they start to brown (about 6 minutes).  Then, add the onion and continue to cook until they are caramelised and golden.  Add the garlic and cook for a further minute before adding the vegan mince.  Cook for two to three minutes, until the vegan mince is completely warmed.  Mix in the boullion powder, vinegar, nutritional yeast, paprika, chili, basil and oregano.  Stir through the flour until completely absorbed.  Then, slowly add the soy milk, stirring constantly until the desired amount of gravy is produced.

Microwave the peas in a large bowl for two minutes, then stir and microwave until cooked but firm (this will vary depending on your microwave's power - for me this took 2 more minutes).

 Assemble your shepherd's pie by spreading the mushroom mixture in the base of a 9x9 casserole dish, spread the peas on top, and cover it all with the mashed potato.  Drizzle or spray the top with olive oil, and place under the grill of your oven on maximum heat for about 5 minutes, or until nicely browned.