shepherd's pie

Holy goddamn hell I was not expecting this to turn out the way it did. Shepherd’s Pie is the food of my childhood and this hit the spot in a beautiful way.description goes here.

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 pounds sweet potato (or russet) - about 7 regular sized potatoes

3 cups riced cauliflower

1 cup walnuts

8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms

1 small onion, diced

3 tbsp low sodium tamari

1 tsp vegan worcestershire

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt, to taste (a dash will do ya)

2 cups frozen veggies of your choice (corn, peas, and carrots are nice)

DIRECTIONS:

Make mashed potatoes. Keep it simple. You can make these rustic (with extra nutrients) by not peeling them, but either way cut these into chunks and steam in a pressure cooker or a steaming basket on the stove till fork tender - I use the instant pot and cook it for 10 minutes on max - I assume the stove-top will take around 20…

Mash the potatoes with… well, a fucking potato masher if you’ve got one - otherwise a fork will do. Add in 1/2 cup of plant milk to make it creamy. A hand-mixer is ideal, but you could also just stir it with a wooden spoon if that’s all you’ve got. Do your best.

If you are using whole cauliflower, wash, chop off the florets and place in food processor. Pulse, creating cauliflower "rice". Add 3 cups to a large bowl.

Add the walnuts to the food processor, and pulse those little fuckers a few times until they’re all crumbly, do NOT over process or you will have a fucking paste. Add the chopped walnuts to the bowl with the cauliflower. Now add the mushrooms to the food processor, and pulse that shit until chopped small. Add to the bowl.

Heat up a skillet and add a little water, then add the diced onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2-3 minutes until those little bastards are a bit see-through. Now add the cauliflower, walnuts, mushrooms, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and spices. Stir until all that shit is nice and combined. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 15-20 minutes. Add salt to taste if you want, and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 F and lightly grease a large casserole dish (I used a 9 x 13 inch dish, a 2-quart dish would work just fucking dandy).

Transfer the "meat" to the prepared dish and spread the that shit out evenly. Sprinkle in the formerly frozen vegetables, then carefully top with mashed potatoes. Smooth that creamy-ass mixture around with a spoon, then use a fork to add texture to the surface of the potatoes, if feeling fucking fancy.

Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling on the edges and hot. For a more golden brown top, broil that masterpiece for an additional 2 minutes or so. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh thyme if you continue to want to be fancy. Serve and smash that shit into your face.

TIPS:

You could use the “meaty” mixture in pretty much anything that calls for ground beef. Change the spices up accordingly depending on what you’re using it for.

You can find riced cauliflower in the produce section of most stores, or in the frozen section. You can also use whole cauliflower florets, and process them to rice in a food processor.

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