Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

I get into food ruts where I tend to make the same thing for weeks on end, because I just like it so much and because it makes shopping & cooking so easy! My latest food fixation is with shepard's pie, I realized it's so easy to make and so comforting and filling this dark time of year. Plus Aradan loves it. Plus I can make it on Monday night and it lasts for days.
I'm not a vegetarian but I prefer to save my meat eating for going out and special occasions, so I make my veggie.

I think this is the first time I'm writing out a recipe I've made up myself, so I'm sorry if you try it and amounts aren't quite correct, I usually just wing it and cook to my tastes!



Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

For the topping:
2 pounds potatoes, pealed and diced
2 tablespoons Butter (or olive oil)
½ cup Milk (or milk substitute or choice)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the filling:
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
1 package seitan or meat substitute of choice, crumbled
4 carrots, diced
1 Package sliced crimini mushrooms (or one box whole ones that you slice)
1 – 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon rosemary
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste (personally I think a ton of pepper works well here)

Preheat the oven to 350°

Bring pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes until tender. Drain, return to the pot and mash, adding butter and salt & pepper. Add milk a little at a time until potatoes are creamy.

In a deep skillet or dutch oven heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften. Then add the garlic, seitan and carrot. Cook for a few minutes, until the carrot is just starting to be tender. Add the peas and mushrooms. When the mushrooms have cooked down slightly add the can of cream of mushroom soup and stir it up so it's well incorporated. Season with herbs and salt & pepper & give it a taste to make sure it's all to your liking.

Pour the filling in a 9×13 baking dish and spread out evenly. Then spoon your mashed potatoes over the filling and spread out so it even covers all the filling, right up to the edges of the pan. Then to rough up the potatoes, use a fork and rake it across the surface of the potatoes in a zig-zag pattern, this will make lots of nice ridges that will brown in the oven.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is nicely browned and the inside is bubbling (you may want to place a cookie sheet under the baking dish to catch any bubbling over). Remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8 people or two people for 3-4 dinners.