Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

My mom made this amazing vegan shepherd’s pie with a recipe she found online a few weeks ago.  I can honestly say it’s the best shepherd’s pie I’ve had, vegan or otherwise.  She gave me the recipe, which according to her printout, is from fatfreevegan.com.  Here is Fat Free Vegan’s recipe below along with pictures I took of it when I made it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients

2 lbs yukon potatoes

1/2 cup almond milk

salt & pepper, to taste

1 sweet onion, minced

2 large carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

8 oz. mushrooms, diced

2 cups vegetable broth

1 can kidney beans, drained

2 cups green beans, cut in 1 in. pieces

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp dried sage

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

Directions

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into cubes.  Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Reserve a cup of their cooking water and drain.  Place in a large bowl, add the almond milk, and mash until smooth.  Add some of the potato water if you need to, though the almond milk should be enough.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and then set aside in a warm place.

While the potatoes are cooking, make the filling.  Add a little bit of oil to a large skillet on medium high heat.  Saute the onions until translucent.  Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, and saute for 3 more minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, kidney beans, green beans, and herbs.  Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  There should still be a little bit of liquid in the skillet, but you may need to add just a bit of the potato water.  Add the spinach and stir until it’s completely wilted.  Mix the cornstarch and water in a separate bowl, and then pour into the skillet with the vegetables.  Stir until the mixture has thickened.

Turn the heat off, and spoon the potatoes evenly over the top of the filling and sprinkle with either rosemary or fried onions.  Serve immediately while hot.  This makes great leftovers as well!  Yields 6 servings.