I didn’t grow up eating shepherd’s pie. I’m not sure if I ever ate it until I was an adult, though my mom made a stove top ground beef and gravy meal with potatoes that was similar. It wasn’t until I moved to Quebec and lived in a cooking residence that I was exposed to the well-loved paté chinois.
Last night I made two versions, one with tempeh, using the recipe from Veganomicon, and one with Yves ground, using the Shepherd’s pie recipe from the big Canadian Living Cookbook (1987) my mother gave me many years ago.
I’m still not a shepherd’s or shepherdess’s pie fan but they were both tasty and satisfying. Simon and I put ketchup on ours and that was good. It really looks disgusting.
Afterward supper, Eric said he didn’t so much like the mashed potatoes and I agreed. He said, what if the topping was something else, or at least some other kind of potato. I had a brain flash – scalloped potatoes on top! Next time I’ll make it that way. The base could use more seasoning, too.
Tuesday night I made the double layer pumpkin cheesecake from the Fat Free Vegan blog that was getting rave reviews. I couldn’t find vegan graham crackers so used animal crackers for the base. It didn’t seem very vegan to be crushing the cute little creatures in my brand new blender but I did it and it was delicious. Don’t panic – its not fat free, though it is lower in fat than standard cheesecake.
While the oven was on and supper was cooking last night, I whipped up a batch of Apple Pie Crumbcake Muffins from Vegan With a Vengeance.
Getting out the potatoes for peeling, I found a heart shaped one. It’s either cute or ironic.
I heart Shepherds Pie. I make mine with lentils.
I love lentils. If I only cooked for myself I think I would eat lentils at least half the time – green, brown, Dupuy, red, etc. forever. So many textures and flavours!
I love vegan Shepherds Pie too – I like Leah Leneman’s recipe from Easy Vegan Cooking, using hazlenuts and mushrooms in with the soya mince. By the way, there is a traditional English dish which uses scalloped potatoes on the top – Lancashire Hotpot. It’s a bit like Shepherds Pie, but used chunks rather than minced meat. So my challenge to you is to veganise it!
Next time I make Shepherd’s pie I am going to make the scalloped potato version. I’ll have to research that Lancashire Hotpot, thanks Ruby Rose. I have watched Coronation Street for years and still am not exactly sure what hotpot is.
I need that cheesecake in my life!
It was so good it cured my migraine. (Not really but it made it more bearable)