Feature Recipe | Lentil Lovers Shepherd’s Pie

Nothing beats classic comfort food like shepherd’s pie. This layered casserole dish contains a medley of lentils and vegetables wrapped in a creamy herb sauce and topped with mashed potatoes. A simple batch of cashew-based parmesan cheese is the hero ingredient in this dish…it lends a creamy, savoury dimension to the dish you just can’t get using store-bought vegan cheese or even nutritional yeast. A blend of vegan butter, almond milk and 5-ingredient vegan parmesan cheese is all that’s needed to transform ho-hum steamed potatoes into epic potato mash — so much so that when I asked my son what meal he wanted for dinner prior to his dental surgery (he couldn’t eat after midnight) he requested this dish. Who needs minced lamb or ground beef filling when lentil lovers shepherd’s pie tastes this good?

For other comfort food classics why not check out our:
Sourdough Noodle Soup with Harvest Vegetables
Classic Vegan Chilli
Ultimate Vegan Hamburger Helper

Enjoy~

Preparation

1/Cook dry lentils (if not using canned)
2/Steam 1-1.5lb potatoes
3/Prepare one batch of Savoury Parmesan Cheese
4/Preheat oven to 400F

Ingredients

Vegetable-Lentil Filling

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch celery seeds (optional)
• Pinch Himalayan pink salt
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 600g steamed vegetables, chopped (eg potato, carrot, zucchini, celery)

Cream Sauce

• 4 Tbsp vegan butter, melted
• 1.5 cup vegetable broth or 1 Tbsp vegetable bouillon dissolved in 1.5 cups water
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup Savoury Parmesan Cheese
• ½ tsp Himalyan pink salt

Mashed Potato Topping

• 1-1.5 lbs potatoes, steamed
• 3 Tbsp vegan butter
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup Savoury Parmesan Cheese
• Few pinches of Himalayan pink salt

Method

Sauté It
Filling
1/Add a glug of olive oil to skillet on medium-low heat. Sauté onion, minced garlic, celery seeds (optional) and a few pinches of salt until onions are translucent and fragrant.
2/Transfer sautéed mixture to a large prep bowl.  Fold in frozen peas, cooked lentils and cooked (steamed) vegetable medley; set aside.

Blend It
Cream Sauce
1/Add butter, vegetable broth, flour, almond milk, 1/2 cup savoury parmesan cheese and salt to a skillet on low-medium heat. Whisk vigorously for a few minutes until your cream sauce reaches the desired consistency.
2/Transfer cream sauce to your prep bowl with prepared vegetable-lentil filling. Fold in sauce until well combined; set aside.

Mashed Potato Topping
1/Mash the steamed potatoes until they reach a “mash-like” consistency. Fold in the butter, almond milk, 1/2 cup savoury parmesan cheese and salt until well combined. Taste and adjust butter/milk/salt as needed.

Layer It
1/Lightly grease the bottom of an oven-safe ceramic dish with vegan butter (or similar). Spread creamy vegetable-lentil filling over the base of the dish. Top with mashed potato filling. Lightly drizzle olive oil over top layer.
2/Tent the prepared pie with aluminum foil tucked in around the edges. Cook at 400F for 20 minutes; remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10 mins. Dish is ready when the filling starts to bubble and/or the mashed potato topping is golden brown.

Serve It
Serve your deep-dish shepherd’s pie with a fresh salad.

Recipe Notes

*I used green lentils during test of this recipe – this variety hold their shape better than the red variety.

*As a general guideline:
1 cup dry lentils = 2.5 cups/500g cooked lentils
1 pound (450g) dry lentils = 7 cups cooked lentils
This handy link gives an overview of lentil conversions.

*I used a blend of red and white nugget potatoes in my test kitchen, but any high-starch potato (e.g. Russet or Yukon Gold) produce the best mash!

SaveSave

SaveSave