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Shepard's Pie

This savory, plant-based version features your choice of legumes together with quinoa and mushrooms. Top it with creamy mashed potatoes or less carb-intense, nightshade-free, mashed cauliflower (shown in the picture). One more tip: Make the topping and/or filling up to 2 days in advance to simplify weeknight meal prep.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Resting Time10 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Ireland, United Kingdom
Keyword: allium free (no onions, no garlic), corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten-free, low FODMAP friendly option, nightshade free option, plant-based, plantbased, soy free, vegan
Servings: 8
Calories: 260kcal

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes OR Cauliflower

  • 1.5 lb potatoes OR cauliflower, cut into 1" pieces (about 3 medium russet potatoes or 1 large head of cauliflower)
  • 1 tbsp finely minced kale to taste
  • 1 tbsp finely minced fresh rosemary sub 1 tsp dry rosemary
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1.5 tsp ENERG Egg for mashed potatoes
  • 0.5 cup nondairy milk beverage for mashed potatoes
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice for mashed potatoes
  • 0.5 cup nondairy cream cheese or strained yogurt for mashed cauliflower
  • 0.25 cup nondairy butter i.e. 4 tablespoons

Filling

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped sub 1/2 cup cabbage
  • 8 oz mushrooms, chopped I usually use the cremini or button varieties
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste sub 1 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tbsp pumpkin puree for a nightshade free option
  • 1 tbsp finely grated/zested ginger
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened, pure cranberry juice
  • 1.25 cups water or broth of choice
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce see recipe notes
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 1 bay leaves
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1.5 cups cooked legumes of choice, rinsed and strained Adzuki beans and black eyed peas are my go-to options in this recipe.
  • 0.5 cup uncooked quinoa any variety
  • salt additional, to taste
  • black pepper additional, to taste

Instructions

Mashed Potatoes OR Cauliflower

  • Boil or steam the potatoes (sub cauliflower) until tender. If you choose to boil the potatoes, strain and then return them to the pot and cook on high heat for about a minute to cook off any remaining water. 
  • Mashed Potatoes: Mash the potatoes manually. Add the butter and lemon juice and mash the potatoes some more until creamy-ish. Whisk the warm milk and ENERG egg in a bowl until frothy and stir the mixture into the mashed potatoes. Add the salt and pepper to taste along with the minced kale and rosemary. Stir /whisk to combine and set to the side.
    I don't recommend mashing potatoes in using a food process/blender since the starches can transform your fluffy potatoes into a goopy, sticky mess. 
  • Mashed Cauliflower: Mash the cauliflower manually or in a food processor with butter. For added creaminess, consider combining with nondairy cream cheese or strained nondairy yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste and the finely minced kale and rosemary. Stir/whisk to combine and set to the side.
    I don't recommend adding nondairy milk beverage to the mashed cauliflower as it may likely make the mixture 'runny' instead of thick and creamy. Please note that the ENERG egg contains potato-based products and should be avoided in the mashed cauliflower if you are on a nightshade free diet. 

Filling

  • Saute celery and mushrooms in a broiler-safe 10" skillet in oil with salt and black pepper until just starting to soften, 3-4 minutes. 
  • Stir in ginger and tomato paste (sub tamarind paste, pumpkin or sweet potato puree for nightshade free option). Stir and cook until the bottom of the skillet is dark brown, about 2 min. 
  • Add the unsweetened, tart cranberry juice, scraping up any browned bits, until the juice has been fully incorporated/boiled off. 
  • Add the water/broth, Worcestershire sauce (see recipe notes), thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, carrots, dry quinoa and cooked legumes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the quinoa is cooked. 
  • Discard the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set to the side.
  • Preheat the broiler to 450F. Pipe the potatoes / cauliflower in an even layer over the filling. If you have frosting bags and tips, you can get fancy here and create a really show stopping look. Or you can just smooth it over with the back of a spoon or spatula, being careful to seal the edges. Run the tines of a fork in concentric circles on the top to create this look.
  • Place the skillet on a rimmed pan and broil on the top rack for ~10  minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crusty. 
  • Remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve!

Notes

Cranberry juice is used in place of the red wine often used in traditional Shepard's (lamb)/Cottage (beef) pie recipes.
If you are assembling this pie using refrigerated filling made a couple days ago, reduce the temperature to 400F and increase the cook time to 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crusty and the filling is bubbling.
Nightshade Free Substitutions: 
The tomato paste in this recipe can be substituted with 1 tsp of tamarind paste or 1 tbsp of pumpkin or sweet potato puree. Mashed cauliflower can be used as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Just note that cauliflower has a higher water content so will have a different texture than potatoes when mashed. We love it with either topping so it comes down to personal preference.
Low FODMAP considerations:
Cabbage or even fennel bulb may be better tolerated at the quantities used in this recipe and can easily be substituted for the celery if needed (1/2 cup cabbage =  1 tbsp cabbage per serving). The rinsed, strained legumes in this recipe should be tolerated for those on a low-FODMAP diet in the suggested serving size (1.5 cups rinsed/strained legumes = 3 tbsp legumes per serving). Root vegetables are generally well tolerated but consider swapping the daikon for kale if needed in the Worcestershire sauce substitution below.
5-min Worcestershire sauce adapted from Nyteglori's recipe from Genius Kitchen.  
    • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
    • 2 tbsp water
    • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/4 tsp ground mustard seed powder
    • 1 tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp black pepper
    • 2 tsp zested daikon
Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool and store. 
 
 
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 727mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2890IU | Vitamin C: 17.2mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 4.6mg