Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

1. Peel and chop the potatoes and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring them to the boil. Cook for around 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft and cooked.
2. Process the mushrooms in a food processor on the S blade until they are finely chopped.
3. Add the onion, and garlic to a pot with the olive oil and sauté until softened.
4. Then add in the soy mince and sauté with the onion and garlic until soft and browned. If your soy mince is a bit chunky then use your spatula while sautéeing to break it up into small pieces.
5. Add in the chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, maple syrup, basil, oregano and tomato paste and mix in.
6. Add the frozen peas and carrots and sauté with the veggie mince until the peas and carrots are slightly softened.
7. When the potatoes are cooked, add in the vegan butter and soy milk and mash it up. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
8. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
9. Add the veggie mince to a pie dish (a square or rectangular dish will also do fine) and smooth down.
10. Add the mashed potatoes on top and smooth them down as the top layer. Use a fork to create ridges in the mashed potatoes.
11. Dot with some vegan butter on top and sprinkle with black pepper.
12. Place into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes switch over to grill for some extra browning on top.

NOTES:

*We used a soy mince that you cook directly from frozen, this worked really well and is ideal for this recipe. However, if you are using a soy mince that needs to be hydrated first, then do this before you start.

*If you can’t get frozen peas and carrots together then get them separately and use 1 cup of each.

*I have generally found 1/3 cup soy milk to be enough for the mashed potatoes but you might need a bit more, but start with 1/3 cup and only add more if needed.