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While it’s clear that my freehand piping skills are beyond reproach, the true artistry is in the flavor.
I’m lucky enough to be invited to a glorious and legendary St. Patrick’s Day Party tonight, and I was inspired to bring a dish that is about as on-theme as you can get: Shamrock Vegan Shepherd’s Pie!
I actually made two Shepherd’s pies so that I could have one to taste last night, and one to save for the party. All I have to do now is pop this bad boy in the oven about 30-40 minutes before it’s time to go!
My initial inspiration came from an idle curiosity about how to better achieve a green vegan food-dye for the occasion. I had hoped for better pigmentation than that of my previous King-Cake experiment. This handy article from Leite’s Culinaria had some great tips.
I considered a few Irish-themed cookies and sweets until I realized that potatoes are just as blank a canvas as any cut-out cookie. And thus began my journey. I used Minimalist Baker’s 1-Hour Vegan Shepherd’s Pie as my starting point, but took a few twists and turns from there.
This is a very forgiving recipe for shepherd’s pie. Use what you have on hand. You can add any veggies that you have on hand to this dish and it will still be amazing. I always prefer lentils because they’re packed with iron and protein, and because they cook up in 30 minutes from dry without any need to pre-soak. But if you are out of lentils you can always use whatever brown or red beans you happen to have squirreled away in your cupboard. And although nothing beats homemade mashed potatoes, feel free to use instant if you’re pressed for time. If you’re just making dinner and it’s not a special occasion, you can skip the shamrock. But, if you’re feeling festive, draw a shamrock, or a leprechaun, or a pot of gold on your shepherd’s pie! Go wild. It’s your pie! Make it how you like it. Sláinte!
Here are a couple of handy links for two optional ingredients in this vegan shepherd’s pie recipe: vegan sour cream and Natural Green Food Dye. Check out my Vegan Corned Beef Cabbage recipe for another great St. Patrick’s Day treat.
The savory lentil base, the fluffy mashed potatoes and the crispy crust on top will make you feel lucky to be plant-based!
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 4-5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 cups vegan milk room temp
- 1/2 cup vegan butter melted or room temp (not cold!!)
Filling
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 10 oz bag frozen peas or veggie blend
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms or 1/2 cup dried and soaked in hot water
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 tsp rosemary dried
- 3-4 cups water
- 4 tsp Better than Bouillon or bullion powder can substitute bullion & water for vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 16 oz bag of green lentils
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
- optional more vegetables, such as corn, broccoli
Shamrock
- Natural Green Food Dye I made mine with pureed spinach and water
Instructions
- If using dried mushrooms, begin soaking them in boiled water as early as possible. You may also pre-soak the lentils while prepping the potatoes. Cover and set aside. Drain before cooking and add only 3 cups of water to the pot before simmering.
Prep and Boil the Mashed Potatoes
- Take butter milk and (optional) sour cream out of the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature.
- Peel and chop the potatoes while bringing about 3 quarts of water to a boil.Add potatoes and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce flame to medium, and simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Prepare the filling
- Rinse the lentils and pick out any misshapen, discolored, or floating beans.
- Dice the onions and carrots and water-sauté over medium heat 2-4 minutes until the onions become translucent. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and dice the mushrooms.
- Add mushrooms and water-sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add bouillon, soy sauce, herbs, garlic and salt and pepper and toss to coat the vegetables.
- Add water and lentils and bring to a boil (3 cups if pre-soaked, 4 cups if not pre-soaked). Cover and allow to simmer over medium-low heat for about half an hour, until the lentils become tender.
Mash the Potatoes
- When the potatoes become very tender and crumble when pierced with a fork, drain then return to pot. Place on low heat and allow some of the water to steam off as you mash the potatoes (about 2-3 minutes).
- Turn off heat. Add 1 cup of vegan milk + 1/2 cup melted vegan butter, and continue to mash.
- Slowly the remaining vegan milk to the mashed potatoes. Taste and add salt and pepper, and adjust seasonings as needed.
Assemble the Pie
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- when lentils are tender, add 4-5 large spoons of mashed potatoes to the lentils and stir mixture begins to thicken into a gravy.
- Mix in the frozen peas.
- Pour the filling mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly.
- Spread a thick layer of mashed potatoes over the filling mixture, and smooth out with a spoon.
Optional Step: Decorate
- I like to make a cross-hatch pattern on the surface of the mashed potatoes because it adds visual interest while improving the crispiness of the surface while baking.
- Add about a cup of the cooled mashed potatoes to a ziplock bag (or piping bag) and add some of the natural green food coloring, until the desired hue is achieved.
- Clip off a corner of your bag with a pair of scissors and begin piping the green mashed potatoes in the shape of a shamrock (or whatever) onto the surface of the pie.
Bake and Serve
- Bake the pie in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes.
- Broil for 1-2 minutes, keeping an eye on it constantly, until the edges and peaks of the mashed potatoes begin to turn golden-brown. Do not leave it alone! Trust me, it will burn and break your heart.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.