Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What's for dinner? Shepherdess Pie with a 'cheesy' leeky crust



Fall for me means lots of lovely comfort food, and there's nothing more comforting than a good old shepherds pie, especially one as easy as this one! This one is adapted from a recipe from the English dame of cooking, Delia Smith, and it took just a few simple tweaks to make it suitable for our vegan table. The original recipe is here.
Seeing as shepherds pie is traditionally made from lamb, this one is renamed as shepherdess pie!

You will need...

  • 1 cup dry TVP (or whatever burger crumbles you like)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 medium onions
  • 3/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 3/4 cup chopped rutabaga (or swede if you live in good old England!)
  • 1/2 level teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley)
  • 10 fl. oz vegetable stock (I used Better than Bouillon brand)
  • 1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar style shreds (or whatever vegan cheese you prefer)
  • 1 large leek, sliced thinly
  • 2lbs potatoes
  • 2 tablespoon vegan margarine (I like Smart Balance Light)
 Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
If using TVP, rehydrate with 1 cup boiling water.
Gently saute onions, carrots and rutabaga for about 10 minutes until the onion turns opaque.
Add the herbs, spices and burger crumbles, then gradually add the stock.
Turn the heat down and cook for about 30 minutes.
While that's cooking, peel and boil the potatoes then mash with the margarine. Don't use milk or any other liquid for this mash as you need it to be pretty firm on top of the filling.
Turn the filling into an ovenproof dish, top with the mash, sprinkle with the leek slices and then the Daiya.
Cook for 25 minutes and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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