Shepherd's Pie

I originally intended to post this on Saint Patrick's Day, but given that was four months ago, it is not worth waiting another eight to share.  This was one of the first recipes I made when going vegan.  Oddly, I never *liked* shepherd's pie until this recipe.  My husband loves this recipe, and I must admit that I made it to solidify his commitment to veganism.  It's not all salads, beans and carrots!

It makes enough to fill a large casserole dish to the brim, and is so hearty it will feed two people for the better part of a week.  To give credit where it is due, the original idea came from the Peta Shepherd's Pie recipe, but since no stores in my area carried the dairy-free "Campbell's Mushroom Gravy" I had to come up with a gravy that would suit the flavors.  After several failed vegan gravy attempts, the gravy for this recipe is adapted from the Isa Chandra Moskowitz recipe, Savory Mushroom Gravy, just reducing the amount liquid and flour so it is a concentrated gravy produced. 

Since it is the middle of the summer right now I'm going to just dream of tasting this and wait for a cooler day to make it again.

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes

2 tbsp margarine
1/4 cup nondairy milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup dry white wine (I use cooking sherry)
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 bag frozen peas (or mixed peas and carrots)
12 oz. or one package Veggie Crumbles or seasoned Textured Vegetable Protein

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Mmm... mashed sweet potatoes...

Chop and boil the potatoes in a large pot for 20 minutes or until soft.  Drain and mash
with margarine and nondairy milk.  Season with salt and pepper.

This looks like a lot, but it will cook down.

Nice and browned, smells delicious!

 

In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté onion, bell pepper and mushrooms until onions are translucent and slightly browned.

Add garlic, thyme, sage, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and sauté for about 2-3 more minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 more minutes to take the raw flavor out of the flour.

Gravy has a yellow tinge thanks to the nutritional yeast, but smells like heaven.

 

Add wine, stir madly,  and let it reduce for about 3 minutes. Add the broth/flour mix and the nutritional yeast, if using. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 10-20 minutes or until thickened.  If too thick, add some more broth.

You could use a mixed vegetable with carrots, but for me it's all about the peas.

Once thickened, add your frozen peas and ground veggie crumbles. 

Pretty full, as you can see.

Now it is filled to the brim.

Pour this into a lightly oiled casserole dish.  Cover your gravy veggie layer with your mashed potatoes on top.  Bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes until warm, bubbly, and potatoes start to brown.

 Bubbly and delicious!

Pesto-Perfect Pasta

When it comes to summertime, the one think I dread doing is turning on the stove.  So when I cook with heat, I try to make sure it is something that makes a gargantuan batch that can last for days!  My favorite big-batch meal is this pasta salad.  It tastes just as good hot as it does cold.

Ingredients

Box of penne pasta

Eggplant (optional but delicious)

1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

 

For pesto:

1 bunch of basil (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in skillet

1 tsp nutritional yeast

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus 2-3 tbs of the oil

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I do in this recipe is cook the eggplant.  My favorite method is using a nonstick George Foreman grill.  You know you have one tucked away in a cupboard somewhere, or if you know anyone of the male persuasion, they may let you borrow theirs!  I cut the eggplant into four chunky slices lengthwise and put it on the grill (without oil) for 15 minutes to cook.  Then once slightly browned and cooked-looking, I take it off the grill and wrap it in tinfoil to stay warm.  This allows for some carryover cooking, so that your eggplant will be deliciously cooked without having to use any oil.  Right before combining the pasta, I unwrap it and chop it into cubes.  Don't have a grill?  It can be cooked on a nonstick stovetop grill, or baked in the oven but you will need to brush on olive oil in these cases to prevent sticking. 

While the eggplant is cooking, I start a big pot of water heating up for the pasta. 

Next I heat up a small skillet, dry, and toast the walnuts for 3-5 minutes.  Watch them closely, they will burn easily.  Once nice and fragrant, remove from the skillet and set aside.  Then I chop up the mushroom and bell pepper and sauté them with a little olive oil in the same skillet until softened, adding salt and pepper while cooking (10-15 minutes). 

Then comes the delicious pesto.

In a food processer, combine the basil, toasted walnuts, garlic, sundried tomato, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper and oil from the sundried tomato jar.  Let that sucker run until all ingredients have been combined into a pesto-y paste.

By now, your water should be boiling.  Add salt to taste and cook your pasta per directions.

To finish, put all of the ingredients into a big mixing bowl - garbanzos, chopped tomatoes, pesto, cooked mushrooms and bell peppers, and chopped cooked eggplant.  Once your pasta is ready, drain and toss it in with the rest of the ingredients.  Now stir, and you will have a delicious pasta dish that you can eat then (you know you want to), or chill in the fridge for lunch and dinner for the next few days.