from Hearty
This recipe can be made more simply and adapted to suit your seeds. Can’t afford celery or sour cream? Omit them. Have some snap peas or some sad-looking broccoli in the fridge? Add it.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 cloves of garlic (at least), minced
1 398 mL (14 fluid ounce) can of tomato-based baked beans
Large handful of texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
1/2 cup of vegetable stock (or 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water)
1 1/2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
5 large or 8 medium-sized potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
Splash of milk
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Heat oil in a saucepan (or, if you have it, a cast iron Dutch oven— you’ll be able to put the mash on top and throw the whole thing into the oven). Add onion, celery, and carrot, and allow it to cook for about five minutes before adding the garlic.
Meanwhile, set a large salted pot of water boiling. Peel the potatoes and chop them into large cubes. Drop the potatoes into the boiling water and let them cook until fork tender—about 15 minutes.
To your onions, celery, carrot, and garlic, add your baked beans, TVP, herbes de Provence, and stock. Once the mixture begins to bubble, turn it down to low and let it hang out until your potatoes are cooked.
When your potatoes are ready, mix the frozen corn and peas into the shepherd’s pie base. If you’ve been working in a non-oven-safe saucepan, transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish.
Make the mashed potatoes: drain the water; rice the potatoes or use a masher; add butter, sour cream, splash of milk, and salt and pepper; and mix.
Dollop the mashed potatoes onto the shepherd’s pie base. Spread them out with a spoon or spatula so everything is evenly covered. Drag a fork across the mash in rows to create a series of parallel lines.
Place in the preheated oven and cook at 375°F for 30 minutes. The peaks of the mash should get a little browned and crispy, and the shepherd’s pie base should bubble up the sides of the dish.
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Even if you’re not vegetarian, inserting plant-forward meals throughout your week will make a big difference. You’ll soon be convinced that vegetarian dishes can be just as hearty and tasty!
Excerpted in part from Hearty: On Cooking, Eating, and Growing Food for Pleasure and Subsistence by andrea bennett. Copyright © by andrea bennett, 2024. Published by ECW Press Ltd. www.ecwpress.com
