Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Yesterday, I just ate some leftovers. Today, I made another really delicious dinner - vegan shepherd's pie from Julie Hasson's Vegan Casseroles book. Buy this book! Recipes use whole food and all look so amazing that I had a hard time deciding what to make first!
Shepherd's Pie won because there was some debate over Christmas as to what the entrée would be for Christmas dinner. So, I've had visions of shepherd's pie swirling in my head. heh.
This was a little labor intensive, so definitely a weekend meal, but SO WORTH IT! Yum yum yum. And, it turns out I learned something new - oat flour is magic! It thickened the delicious gravy called for in this recipe like a champ. Such a yummy and simple gravy too! I'll definitely be spreading it over mashed potatoes and such.
Here's a pic of the lovely gravy cookin' away and the final product ...

Shepherd's Pie with Lentils and Herbs

(based on that found on p.74 of Vegan Casseroles)



  Ingredients:

Topping:
2 1/2 pounds red potatoes
3/4 cup plain unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
2 tablespoons vegan butter
2 tablespoons nooch (aka nutritional yeast)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used some granulated garlic.)
1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh black pepper to taste

Filling:
1 cup brown lentils
olive oil
1 yellow or sweet onion, diced
(original recipe calls for 5oz mushrooms, but I omitted since mushrooms are the one food I do not like!)
2 carrots (I used 4 small carrots), finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup frozen peas (I heated mine in the microwave before tossing them in)
1 recipe Good Gravy! (recipe below)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Good Gravy!:
1/2 cup Oat Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour)
6 tablespoons nooch
3 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons vegan "no-beef" beef flavored bouillon paste (such as Better Than Bouillon brand)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
First, make the gravy. In a large saucepan, whisk together the oat flour and nooch. Whisk in the soy milk until the mixture is very smooth. Whisk in the granulated onion and garlic. Add the bouillon and pepper, whisking well. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and while continuously whisking, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking until the sauce thickens (for about 5 minutes).
Next, preheat the oven to 425F.
Prepare the lentils and potatoes. Put lentils and potatoes in pots and cover with a few inches of water. Bring pot with lentils to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 25 minutes. Boil potatoes until tender. Drain lentils and potatoes. Return potatoes to pot.
Mash the potatoes with a  masher and add the soy milk, nooch, vegan butter, garlic, salt, and pepper.
In a large skillet prepare the filling. Add the olive oil and cook over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until garlic fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the Brussels sprouts and carrots and cook until both are just tender. (I added a little water and covered the pan to cook them.) Stir in the lentils, gravy, rosemary, thyme, peas, salt, and pepper and mix well without smashing the lentils.
Grease a 13 inch x 9 inch pan. Scoop gravy mixture into pan and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Be sure to spread the potatoes all the way to the edges to try to avoid the gravy mixture from bubbling over. Bake for about 25 minutes - until the potatoes begin to brown.