beXnlog

Rainy Weather Dish

I feel like i haven't seen the sun in 2 years. If i wanted weather like this i would've moved to Seattle! Since it's such a crappy day outside i made Shepherd's Pie. I made up this vegetarian version with fake meat; most use lentils and although i am a fan of lentils, i'd rather eat them another way.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie, be Style

Potato Part:
3-4 medium russet potatoes
2 T butter
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 t garlic powder
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4-1/3 c plain soymilk

Peel and de-eye the potatoes. Chop into big chunks and place in a pot of salted water, enough to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until done, about 7-10 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes with butter, cheese, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Add soymilk in small increments until the potatoes are an easily-spreadable consistency.

Pie Part:
2 T oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
10 oz fake ground beef (i used Morningstar Crumbles)
2 T ketchup (this is British food, you know!)
1 T vegetarian Worcestershire sauce or steak sauce
2 carrots, sliced or cubed
1 c frozen peas
1 can semi-condensed cream of mushroom soup (i used Amy's)
salt & freshly ground pepper
butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add chopped garlic, stir. Add fake ground beef, ketchup and sauce, stir until combined. Add carrots and peas and enough mushroom soup (don't water down, use straight from the can) until the Pie Part is a nice, gravy-encoated mess of goodness (i used the whole 14 oz can). Add salt & pepper to taste and let simmer for a few minutes.

Assembly Part:
Pour the Pie Part into a 7.5 x 11" (or similar) glass oven-safe pan, spread into an even layer. Drop small glops of the Potato Part onto the Pie Part. Using a fork, spread the potato until you get a nice even layer, completely covering the Pie Part and sealing the edges to the glass pan. Dot with butter if you want. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and it smells great. Extra credit: broil quickly to brown the Potato Part.

If you hate carrots or something, just leave them out! Want onions, add them in! Just use your judgment and adjust the other ingredients. Add more fake meat to compensate, or use less mushroom soup.

posted by beXn @ 5:14 PM