Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

This is my hearty, vegan shepherd’s pie recipe. A rich base layer of meat free mince, chestnut mushroom, herbs and gravy, topped with carrots and mashed potato. I’ve served this to vegans and non-vegans alike and it’s always gone down very well. No meat involved, but all the same delicious, comforting food you know and love

Yield; Six servings Cook time; One hour

You’ll need;

1. One teaspoon of oil
2. One small brown onion, minced
3. Two cloves of garlic, minced
4. 200g/7oz of chestnut mushroom, minced
5. 350g/12oz meat free mince
6. One heaped tablespoon of plain flour
7. 200ml hot vegetable stock
8. One teaspoon of the following dried herbs; parsley, rosemary, thyme
9. Three large carrots, sliced
10. Four large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
11. A splash of unsweetened plant milk
12. A tablespoon of non-dairy margarine
13. A teaspoon of dijon

Method;

• Firstly work on the “meat” layer. In a large frying pan over a medium heat add in the oil, along with the onion and garlic. Allow to fry for five minutes, stirring occasionally
• Then add in the minced mushroom, it might seem like a large amount but they will shrink down considerably. Cook for another five minutes, again stirring occasionally
• Next add the mince and flour, give everything a good mix to ensure even distribution of the flour. Allow this to cook for about three or four minutes before adding the vegetable stock and herbs. The flour will thicken the stock into a gravy, at this point season to taste with salt and black pepper (personally I just add a little pepper because the salt in the stock is enough for me). Finally take the mixture off the heat and pour it into the bottom of an oven proof dish
• Now move on to the rest of the dish. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the sliced carrot and boil until tender. How thickly you slice the carrots will affect the cooking time, mine took around 8 minutes to cook.
• Once cooked drain away the water, then lay them in a single even layer on top of the meat layer you just made
• Now for the last layer, the mashed potato. Place the chopped potato into a large pan of boiling water. Again, how you chop your potatoes will again affect the cooking time, mine took about 10 minutes
• Once cooked drain away the water and add a splash of unsweetened plant milk, around a couple of teaspoons of non-dairy margarine and the dijon. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt and pepper, then mash well
• Add the mashed potato layer on top of the carrot layer. Gently smooth out the mash and rough up the top with a fork
• Bake at 220ºC/200ºC fan assisted/400ºF for 30 minutes, or until the top has started to brown in places. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to stand for five minutes before serving

A couple of points;

1. I always add a layer of carrots between the meat and the mash, as that’s how my Mom makes it, so that’s how I make it too
2. I’ve seen some people use food processors to make mashed potato, I wouldn’t do this personally. It’s far too hard on the potato and you’ll get mash that looks like wallpaper paste. Use a hand masher or potato ricer, not a blender/food processor/hand mixer
3. For the meat free mince meat I went with seitan, click here for the recipe you can always use shop bought mince if you prefer. Meat free mince is available in pretty much all supermarkets