A Better “Vegetarian” Shepherd’s Pie

Last night, after gallivanting about DC, MD and Northern VA we were hungry for some good hearty food. Not wanting to go to the grocery store since we weren’t working for the for seeable future we used what ingredients we had at home for the dish. I have veggie dishes a-plenty on a Pinterest board of mine called Veggie Foods and I found this gem a few days ago and decided to try it since we had all the necessary ingredients. I did not know at the time how delicious it would taste or that it was in metric units so I guessed some amounts and added new ingredients.

If you want to see the recipe I used you can see it here.

Here are my American adjustments plus some additions of my own:

1 TBSP olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 large carrots, cut into bite sized chunks

2 TBSP chopped thyme

200mL red wine vinegar

150 mL water

1 can chopped/diced tomatoes

1 tsp beef granules (I eyeballed it…about 1 tsp I guess)

1 can green beans, drained (and/or 1 can peas, drained – I used green beans but I think peas would be great!)

1 can corn

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

¼ cup half and half (some type of cream or milk will do)

2TBSP butter

¾ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (I eyeballed it…enough to cover the pie)

1.     Heat the oil in a frying pan, then fry the onion until golden. Add the carrots and all but a sprinkling of thyme. Pour in the vinegar, 150ml water and the tomatoes, then sprinkle in the beef granules and simmer for 10 mins. Add the can of green beans, peas and corn, including the juice of ONE of these, then cover and simmer for another 10 mins until the carrots still have a bit of bite.

2.     Meanwhile, boil the sweet potatoes for approx. 15 mins until tender, drain well, then mash with the butter and cream (half & half). Pour the carrot, bean mixture into a pie dish, spoon the mash on top, then sprinkle over the cheese and remaining thyme. (The pie can now be covered and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for up to a month.)

3.     Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 20 mins if cooking straight away, or for 40 mins from chilled, until golden and hot all the way through.

To complete the meal we added take & bake whole grain bread from Harris Teeter and zucchini chips as sides.

After one bite, Scott and I were both “ooo”-ing and “ahh”-ing about how delicious it was. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to add salt and pepper so I had some on the table in case it was needed but it wasn’t! There was so much flavor in this dish! We can’t wait to make it again. I’ve finally made a “Tried and True” Pinterest board for those dishes we love and want to remember where they are so we can make them again. I was also particularly proud of the additions I made to this meal which enhanced the flavors. I’m always afraid of ruining a dish by deviating from the recipe but I tried this time and was rewarded for my bravery. I guess I finally proved to myself that I’m a better cook than I give myself credit for.