Since all this years Storm names have just been released (shout-out to Storm Hannah, coming soon!), what better time to write a post on some super comforting vegan food. A vegan shepherd’s pie has been on my hit-list for a while but I was trying to see which mince alternative would suit it best, and I was also trying to work out how to flavour it in a “sheepish” way – as traditional shepherds pie is made with lamb. So here is what I came up with, and it’s pretty YUM!
You will need:
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 small, white onions (or 2 regular sized), diced
- 3 small carrots (about a cup and 1/4), diced
- 1 medium turnip, diced small
- 1 very large sweet potato, diced
- 3 tbsp gravy powder of choice
- 1/8 cup stock powder
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp mixed herbs
- 1 cup peas
- fresh black pepper
How to make it:
Start by water-frying the onion and garlic, of course. Once the onions are translucent, add the carrot, peas and 1 cup of the turnip. At the same time, cook the remaining turnip and sweet potato boiling in a pot of salted water, turn off the heat when cooked through.
Back to the main filling…
Top with the stock powder and pour over about 300ml of water, mix well and cook on a medium heat until the turnip is cooked through. I’m specifying turnip because it takes the longest.
Next, drain and rinse the lentils and add to the pan along with the dijon mustard, mixed herbs, worcester sauce, and gravy powder. Mix this well and add a little bit more water if needed to get the gravy to the right texture. I actually needed to add a cornstarch mix to thicken it as there was a bit too much water left in the pan.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the mincy part, add to a baking pan of choice. Drain and mash the sweet potato and turnip (I chose turnip as it’s the only thing I could think of to add a bit of a “sheepy” flavour to the pie and I think it works!). Top the filling with the mash and make a pretty pattern on the top with a fork. Apologies for the terrible photos, as autumn is here, the light is running away earlier every night!
Grill the pie (it should be hot anyway) until it turns crispy on top. If you’d like to make this in advance you could stop before grilling, store in the fridge, and bake at 180c (fan) for 45-60mins before serving. Just make sure it’s piping hot the whole way through before serving. Add lashings of black pepper just before eating!
Such a good family meal, and so comforting for this time of year. This one is sure to even have meat-eaters coming back for a second helping!
Let me know if you try this recipe by commenting down below and tagging me on Instagram! If you have any suggestions on ways you improved this recipe or your own little additions, please share! Also feel free to share/pin this recipe on Pinterest!
Hannah Finds Vegan 