Drink & Dish: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie {with video!}

Do you guys celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? I’ve never really done much, but green is my favorite color, so I do enjoy an entire holiday dedicated to it. 😉 I really like to get holiday themed pedicures (my bank account doesn’t, but that’s an other story…), and I always get really excited to get something green in March!

To be honest, I had no idea what the heck people even eat for St. Patty’s Day. After some brain storming, Nicole suggested shepherd’s pie, but I didn’t even really know what went inside the thing. I knew it was meat and potatoes, but that was about it.

I did some research, swapper the meat for lentils, swapped the mashed potato topping for a sweet potato puree, and all of the sudden I had a delicious, hearty, and filling vegan shepherd’s pie.

Can we talk about how shepherd’s pie is the hardest thing ever to photograph? I felt like every single photo I took just looked like vegetable mush. In fact, it took me 2 takes (one during testing, and one during filming) to get even a handful of photos that I liked between the two.

I should also mention that this makes a LOT of food. Like, I hope you have a big family, and are looking forward to healthy left overs because it will last you forever, and only gets better the next day! I tested this recipe out on a Tuesday, ate the leftovers all week long, and then made it TWICE for filming. I’ve pretty much been eating nothing but shepherd’s pie for the last week and a half.

In fact, I can’t believe I’ve gone this long not eating this regularly–savory, rich veggies topped with creamy, sweet potatoes? It just screams the makings of a perfect dinner!

Oh, and it’s especially delicious with Nicole’s Irish maiden cocktail (AKA my new favorite drink ever). Make sure to check out her recipe as well! And here’s our latest episode of Drink & Dish!

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

yield 10-12 servings

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1 cup low sodium vegetable broth, divided use
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 large squash (zucchini or yellow), sliced
• 1 lb cooked lentils
• 1 cup frozen peas
• sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and thyme for seasoning
• cashew cream for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. To make the sweet potato puree, roast sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Cool slightly, then remove skins and transfer to a blender. Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup vegetable broth with corn starch. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add  onion, garlic, carrots and squash. Season with salt, pepper and thyme (I used a heavy pinch of each), and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Add lentils, peas and vegetable broth/corn starch mixture. Add an extra 1/2 cup  vegetable broth. Cook until all ingredients are heated throughout stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to a large casserole dish (or individual serving dishes). Evenly spread sweet potato puree on top.
6. Broil for 20 minutes. Top with cashew cream if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.