Gardener’s Pie (Vegan Shepherd’s Pie)

Dinner

19 May

My gardener’s pie recipe, uses just one pot, is a family friendly meal that will be a sure fire hit with even the fussiest eaters. It’s one of the recipes that gets a high rotation in our kitchen during the colder months. The traditional shepherd’s pie recipe contains mince meat and some vegetables. With my recipe, you can use Vegie Delights Savoury Mince (gluten free) or Naturli Minced as the meat alternative. Both of these meat alternatives can be found at the local Woolworths store. I’m sure that the other supermarkets have a similar alternative but I’m not too familiar with them.

The first time I made this meal, my fussy eater and husband did not even realise that there was no meat in it. The texture of the plant-based mince can fool even the fussiest eaters when cooked properly. They are also great for Taco Tuesday! My kids love tacos, they love assembling their own tacos and on the following day, I will use the leftover plant-based mince and wrap some burritos for them for their school lunchbox. All you need is some wraps, taco mince (my recipe is loaded with vegetables), jalapeños, a sandwich press and some aluminium foil.

For my gardener’s pie recipe below, I’ve used sweet potatoes but normally I will use whatever potatoes I have around. I’ve made the pie with standard brushed potatoes and it’s tasted great. Important point, to get a nice crunch on top, make sure the potato top is rough and use the grill function on your oven for the last 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients

400g Naturli Minced (pea base) or 1 pack of Vegie Delights Savoury Mince

3 celery stalk chopped (optional)

2 medium carrot chopped

1/2 cup of peas or green beans chopped

1 medium brown onion chopped

1 can of tomatoes

1 tbsp of Coconut Amino

1.5kg sweet potatoes

1/4 cup of dairy free alternative milk (soy, oat or almond)

1 tbsp of vegan butter

3 tbsp of olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron casserole pot and cook the onion till soften.
Add the celery, carrots and beans/peas to the onions and cook for at least 10 minutes.
Add the meat alternative mince and brown with the vegetables. Season with some salt and pepper.
Add the tin of tomatoes and coconut amino and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
In a seperate pot, add the peeled sweet potato and bring to boil and cook until a fork can be insert into the potatoes.
Drain the potatoes and add the vegan butter and your dairy free alternative milk to the potatoes and mash till smooth.
Using a spoon, scoop the mash potato on top of the pie filling. Make sure you use a fork to rough the top of the potatoes.
Heat up the oven to 180 degrees and warm the pie for 30 minutes.
Finish off the pie with the grill function to make the potato mash top crispy.

TIP: I normally use my Le Creuset Cast Iron Shallow Casserole to cook this pie, as it can be used on the stove pot and then put in the oven to finish off. Less washing up is always a bonus!