Ultimate Shepherd's Pie

This is a wonderful recipe to satisfy even the carnivores at the dinner table.  I adapted it slightly from the original recipe in Vegan Planet.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil                                                                  
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped                                      
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 120g white or Portobello mushrooms,chopped
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp tamari or any other soya sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock 
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 tsp minced fresh marjoram leaves or 1/2 tsp dried 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
• 3 frozen veggie burgers or veggie sausages, thawed and chopped or crumbled
• 1/2 cup fresh green peas
• 1/4 cup ground walnuts 
• 3 cups mashed potatoes
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Method:


Preheat the oven to 190oC.  Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and carrot, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste, tamari, stock, thyme, marjoram and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer to thicken slightly, about 1 minute.
Spoon the filling mixture into a lightly oiled deep oven proof dish. Stir in the chopped burgers/sausages, peas and walnuts.  Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.  Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil.
Bake until the potatoes are hot and bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Serve hot.


Tip:  I served it with roughly cut avocado and tomato pieces on the side.