Meatless challenge: Shepard's Pie

I think eating vegan is a very difficult transition. As the name of the blog suggests, I am not 100% committed to the vegan diet. Growing up around fresh farm produce, meats, and dairy created a preference for these foods in me that I just don't think I will ever shake. After reading the China Study and heading on this path to eating more vegetables and pant based proteins, I caught on to the fact that some recipes are easier to turn into vegan recipes than others. For example, taking a bite of a BBQ tofu sandwich is a pretty far leap from pulled pork. However, replacing ground hamburger or turkey with crumbled tempeh results in very little to no noticed difference.

The recipe this evening uses crumbled tempeh in place of hamburger. Tempeh, mixed with veggies and topped with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes, is a meatless challenge all of you meat eaters can take-on with ease. You save money, calories, and especially fat intake by doing this simple switch.

The prep time does take about one hour, so this recipe is great for Sunday dinner.

A Shepard, without his sheep, pie
Prep 1 hour
Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees

Step 1a: Turn tempeh into ground meat, well, you know
I will repeat this process in many other recipes. This is an essential staple in the vegan diet!
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 packages tempeh. I use the soy type of tempeh.
1/3 C soy sauce
1/2 C veggie broth
Salt, pepper

Heat oil on medium in a saute pan. Add garlic and saute for one minute. Crumble into fine, pea sized pieces, two packages of tempeh. Stir and cook two minutes. Pour in soy sauce and veggie broth and bring to a boil. Stir frequently. Once the liquid cooks off, add pepper. Taste before adding salt. The soy sauce can make it just salty enough for some tastes. Scrape all tempeh into a large metal bowl.

Step 1b: Get the mashed potatoes started
While the tempeh and veggies cook, wash and cut into 4 pieces 6 red skin potatoes. Place into a stock pot with water and get the water boiling. Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes or until a fork can pierce the whole way through a piece of potato. Drain.

Step 1c: Saute veggies
I take the easy route here and use a bag of organic mixed veggies. Shepard's pie traditionalists can use frozen peas.
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small bag frozen mixed veggies, thawed
1 8 oz container white mushrooms
1 Tbsp thyme
1/2 Tbsp coriander
1 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Heat oil and cook veggies for one minute. Add spices.

Step 2: Gravy time
1/4 C flour
2 C veggie broth

Whisk together flour and veggie broth until flour dissolves. Pour over veggies and bring to a boil until liquid reduces and creates a gravy like texture to the veggie mixture. Stir frequently. Add to the bowl of tempeh and mix.

Step 3: Mash the taters 
Since the base layer of this is so rich, I keep the mashed potatoes very light.
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 C Veggie broth, plus more as needed
Salt
Pepper
Mash the potatoes, olive oil, veggie broth, salt and pepper. Add veggie broth to desired consistency of mashed potato

Step 4: Layer and bake
In a greased 9" x 11" glass dish, pour in the tempeh and veggie mixture. Scoop potatoes on top. You should get 9 dollops of mashed potatoes. You can use the back of a serving spoon to spread the mashed potatoes across the tempeh layer for a more traditional shepard's pie. Though, this is pretty far from tradition to begin with! Bake at 375 for at least 20 minutes. The potatoes will be lightly brown and the tempeh layer will be bubbling when ready. Let stand for 15 minutes before eating.