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Meatless Shepherd’s Pie

Meat substitutes have come a long way, and the Gardein brand makes a line of delicious products available in the frozen foods section of mainstream grocery stores. The company website has some nice, easy recipes, including this one. It subs cauliflower for the traditional potato puree topping. Nutritional information isn’t given for the recipe as a whole, but this is a healthy list.
 
Ingredients
Shepherd’s pie mix

• 1 pckg beefless ground
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1bay leaf
• 1/3 cup peas
• 1/3 cup corn kernels
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• to taste salt and pepper

Cauliflower puree

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/8 cup vegan margarine
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• to taste salt and pepper 

Preparation
For Shepherd’s Pie mix

• Heat the oil in a large saucepot. Add carrots and onions and sweat over medium heat for 5 minutes. 
• Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more. Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir to combine. Add the soy sauce to the pot and stir well to avoid lumps. 
• Add the vegetable stock, bay leaf and Gardein Beefless Crumbles. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the peas, corn, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour into a deep baking dish.

For the Cauliflower Puree

• Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and discard. Rough chop the cauliflower and combine in a saucepot with the margarine. Place over medium heat and begin to sweat being careful not to brown the cauliflower. 
• After 5-7 minutes, add ½ cup of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the cauliflower is tender, approximately 15 minutes. 
• Place the entire contents of the pot into a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth, adding the remaining vegetable stock to adjust the consistency. Season with the salt and pepper. Place into a piping bag.
• To finish
• Pipe the cauliflower puree on top of the hot shepherd’s pie mix in whichever pattern you desire. Place under a hot broiler for 5 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

TAGS > healthy, Meatless, recipe, shepherd's pie, vegetarian