Name: Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

• Topping
  • 2 pounds potatoes, unpeeled
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/3 cup milk
• Sauce
  • 1/3 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup brown or French green lentils
  • 2 garlic cloves, divided, plus 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
  • 1/3 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaves
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 2/3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free white miso, or 1 teaspoon. gluten-free tamari soy sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper
• Filling
  • 4 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled fall vegetables (such as squash, turnips, carrots, and parsnips)
  • 1/3 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed and halved
  • 4-inch sprig rosemary
  • 2/3 cup bite-size pieces mixed fresh mushrooms
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, chives, and sage)

Instructions:

• Topping
  • Preheat oven to 450º.
  • Bake potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet until tender, about 45 minutes.
  • Let cool slightly, then peel.
  • Press potatoes through a ricer, food mill, or colander into a large bowl.
  • Add butter; stir until well blended.
  • Stir in milk.
  • Season to taste with salt.
• Sauce
  • Soak dried porcini in 1 cup hot water; set aside.
  • Combine lentils, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp. salt, and 4/3 cups water in a medium saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Drain lentils and discard garlic.
  • Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
  • Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 12 minutes.
  • Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Stir in tomato paste.
  • Cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste is caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add bay leaves and wine; stir, scraping up any browned bits.
  • Stir in broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
  • Strain mixture into a large saucepan and bring to a boil; discard solids in strainer.
  • Stir cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl to dissolve.
  • Add cornstarch mixture; simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • Whisk in miso.
  • Season sauce with salt and pepper.
  • Set aside.
• Filling
  • Preheat oven to 450º.
  • Toss vegetables and pearl onions with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 2 garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs in a large bowl.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Spread ingredients on a rimmed baking sheet.
  • Roast, stirring once, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Transfer garlic cloves to a small bowl; mash well with a fork and stir into sauce.
  • Discard rosemary.
• Completion
  • Arrange lentils in an even layer in a 2.5-qt. baking dish.
  • Set dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
  • Toss roasted vegetables with fresh mushrooms and chopped herbs.
  • Layer on top of lentils.
  • Pour sauce over vegetables.
  • Spoon potato mixture evenly over.
  • Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
  • Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Comments: 10/31/2020 I made 1/3 the original recipe. I used my mashed potato recipe and, for the sauce, about 2 cups of leftover gravy from Gail’s Pork Roast with a cup of chopped onions. For the filling I had a cut butternut squash, cooked by 15 minutes in the microwave, with 2 cups of frozen green peas also cooked in the microwave for the last 3 minutes. It filled the 2.5-qt casserole dish and overflowed during cooking. I forgot to put a foil-lined sheet under it so had a mess. We enjoyed the result.
11/18/2025 - I tried to make 1/3 of the recipe, not remembering that my recipe was already 1/3 of the original recipe. As a result, I came up short, barely half filling the 2.5-quart casserole dish.
For the topping, I used 1 lb of red potatoes, not peeled but mashed. The filling was 1 3/4 cup turnip, 1 carrot, 3/4 cup green peas, and 8 pearl onions. I made the sauce based on the recipe, but simplified, instead of using leftover gravy as in 2020. I omitted the porcini mushrooms, the white wine, and the cornstarch. I started first with the brown lentils and reduced the cooking times, but it still took about 2 hours.

Source: Based on https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/vegetable-shepherds-pie reduced to 1/3 the original amounts.

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