My mum used to make shepherd’s pie on a regular basis before I became vegetarian and I missed the comfort food that is a massive helping of shepherd’s pie. Here’s our recipe that gives a bit of a different kick to the filling but is still utterly delicious.
This feeds 4 hungry people or 6 regular people.
Ingredients
- One tablespoon of vegetable oil
- One large or two medium white onions
- One or two cloves of garlic
- 350g Quorn or soya mince
- A large carrot, peeled and grated
- One tin (440g) of chopped tomatoes
- One tablespoon of tomato paste
- One teaspoon of ground ginger
- One teaspoon of ground cumin
- One teaspoon of ground coriander
- One teaspoon of marmite (or stock powder, or miso paste)
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 kg of potatoes suitable for mashing (we use King Edwards)
- 25g butter (or more if you like your mash creamy)
- 50ml milk (ditto)
- 100g cheddar cheese (more is OK if you want)
- Salt and pepper
Recipe
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) or 200C (normal).
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Fry in the oil on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add the quorn or soya mince. Mix it well with the onion.
- Once the mince is cooked through, add the spices, lemon and carrot and stir for another minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree, mix well in and leave to simmer (covered) for 15-20 mins. Top up with some boiling water if it goes dry.
- Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the potatoes. Boil in salted water for 10-15 mins until they’re ready for mashing. Mash with the butter and milk until they’re as smooth as you like them. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Grab your favourite oven dish. Spoon in the quorn mince mix, then cover with the mashed potatoes. Use a fork to create a pleasing pattern on the surface of the mash.
- Finally, grate the cheese over the top and put in the oven for 15-20mins until the top is nicely browned.