Vegan Shepherd's Pie

I cannot believe it has been over a month since my last post. I told myself that I was going to do this at least once a week, but we all know how that goes. Between dealing with the flu for over a week and then my wild and crazy holiday, I guess I just lost track of time. Don't get me wrong. I did set foot in the kitchen over the holiday even with the baby locks on all the cabinets in Virginia, where I spent my Christmas. It took me the whole week to figure them out, and, just as I did, it was time to pack up and head back to Charleston.

After a week of delicious food, I was not ready to go back to healthy eating and continued to crave the warmth of holiday comfort foods. I found the following recipe in one of my new favorite cookbooks, Clean Food, by Terry Walters. The recipe, a delicious veggie version of Shepherd's Pie, was tweaked a little bit to add my own flare. That and I can never follow a recipe...no matter how hard I try.

Enjoy!



One of the best things about this dish is that you can just throw it all together and "in the oven it goes" for 30 minutes. So warm and comforting, I couldn't help but eat a few bites right out of the oven.



The biggest change I made is was using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Not only did it add a little sweetness, but I think it looks nice too! I also took out the mushrooms and made a couple other little changes depending mostly on what I had in the house. Please do check out the original, however. The book has a ton of great recipes all categorized by ingredients available by season. It's a great guide to eating local, which seems to be growing in popularity these days. I actually hope this is a trend that sticks because it just makes so much more sense, and I just feel, as human beings, we are entitled to reasonably priced, good for us food without all the added "this" and "that." Anyway, I'm off my soapbox, so please enjoy this delicious recipe.



Liz's Version of Vegan Shepherd's Pie:

Makes about 4 servings:

Potato Top:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. salt
a couple Tbsp. olive oil

Filling:
16-20 oz. seitan
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-3 cloves minced garlic--I like my garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried green goddess
pinch of white pepper
1 c. baby sweet corn
3-4 oz. baby spinach
1/4 c. mirin
1 c. vegetable stock
1 tsp. cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Cut up potatoes into smaller chunks. Then place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender--until a fork easily goes into the potatoes. Drain water and add almond milk, olive oil and salt. Mash until the mixture is smooth and then set aside for later.

Chop up seitan and place, with shallot, in a heated pan containing the olive oil. Saute until lightly browned and then add the corn, spinach, mirin, and stock. Cook until spinach is tender but still bright green. Add the cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of water and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the seitan mixture into a casserole pan and spread the sweet potato mixture on top. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until sauce starts to bubble. Remove from the oven and allow pie to cool slightly before serving.