Shepherd's Pie

I wanted to make something new and different for Thanksgiving. I also didn't want to spend all day in the kitchen. And I wanted to avoid cooking with tofu, seitan, or anything that might be construed as a meat replacer. The November-December 2010 issue of VegNews has a veganized version of Shepherd's Pie that looked perfect. Lots of "Thanksgiving Day" ingredients: potatoes, peas, carrots, gravy, and mushrooms. The Shepherd's Pie did take a bit of time to make but was much quicker than making a bunch of side dishes.

And oh, was it good! Very savory and delicious. This is an adaptation of the VegNews recipe and please note, it only serves 2-3 people. I cut the original recipe in half. Today, I'm kind of sorry I did that because there are no leftovers!

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups potatoes, peeled, diced, cooked
2 TB Earth Balance margarine
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB rice milk
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1 TB olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
2-4 TB of white wine
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1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup diced carrots
2 TB diced celery
1 clove of garlic, minced
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1 TB spelt flour
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1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
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1/3 cup vegetable broth
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1 cup cooked lentils (be sure not to overcook!)
2 TB fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tamari
1/4 cup frozen peas

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil loaf pan. In large bowl combine cooked potatoes, margarine, salt and milk. Mash and set aside.

In medium size saute pan, heat oil and add onions. Saute for several minutes over medium heat. Add wine and cook until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until mushrooms get limp. Add flour and cook for a minute. Add spices and cook for another minute scraping bottom of pan so nothing burns. Add broth and stir till thickened. Add more broth if too thick. Add rest of ingredients: lentils, parsley, Worcestershire, tamari and peas. Stir well and place in loaf pan. Pile potatoes on top, distribute evenly and rake a fork across the top. Sprinkle paprika and fresh pepper over top and bake for about 40 minutes until bubbly and top is lightly browned.