Sweet Potato 'Shepherd's' Pie

A warming, hearty dish with delicious flavours.

I love this recipe, it's packed full of vitamins, protein, colours and flavour! If you get all your ingredients together it won't take too long to make either. Allow around an hour which includes both prep and cook time.

It's been a hit with everyone I have made it for including the boys and even younger kiddies too.

Another great dish for getting good nutrients in whilst tasting great and also perfect for using up any veggies in the fridge.

How do we do it?

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This is a great dish to get lots of veggies and proteins in. I like to use sweet potato as my pie topper, it’s slightly lower calorie than white potatoes but it’s high in vitamin A also. You can of course use white potato, you will just need to use some plant milk to get the softer mash consistency as the white potatoes tend to be drier than the sweet potatoes.

I make quite a large pie in a 33cm by 26cm dish and have it for 2 days. If you like a deep potato topping then add a couple more potatoes than the recipe states. We can get about 6-7 servings out of it or 8 if you are going to bulk it out with sides or serving to little tummies. I like serving it with a mixed salad or some greens but the boys love a side of chips and salad!

You can easily reduce the measurements if cooking for less people.

To ensure your red wine is vegan visit Barnivore: your vegan wine, beer, and liquor guide to check your alcohol! Feel free to omit the wine also if you are cooking for younger children - it still tastes great!

Recipe - Serves 6 -7

Mash Potato

• 1.2kg Sweet Potatoes (I used 5 potatoes)

• Pinch of Pepper

• 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

• 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter 1 tsp Garlic Powder

Pie Filling

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 Red Onion

• PinchSsalt

• 1 Leek

• 2-3 Garlic Cloves

• 1 Courgette

• 2 Carrots

• 1 tsp Soy Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Yeast Extract/Marmite

• 1 Tbsp Rosemary

• 1 tsp Thyme

• 2 Tbsp Tomato Puree

• 300g Mushrooms Mince

• 1 Cup Red Wine

• 2 Tins of Lentils

• Large Handful of Spinach

• 250ml Vegetable Stock or Onion Gravy
  

Method

1.Pre heat oven to 200°C

2. Peel your sweet potatoes and chop into quarters. Add them to boiling water with a pinch of salt and boil until they soften. Check by inserting a knife into a couple of the potatoes, if they are still hard continue boiling and checking.

3. Whilst the potatoes are boiling, prepare your vegetables. Finely slice the onion and leeks, roughly chop the carrots and courgette. Mince your mushrooms in the blender or by chopping very finely.

4. Add the oil to the pan and once hot add the onion and leek with a pinch of salt. Fry until they soften and then add the garlic.

5. Don’t forget to check your potatoes! Once they are done, set aside for later.

6. Add the carrot and courgette to your pan and fry for around 10 minutes on a medium heat until they begin to soften.

7. Add in the soy sauce, yeast extract rosemary, thyme and tomato puree and stir till everything is well mixed. Fry for around another 5 minutes.

8. Pop in the mushroom mince and stir well then add the red wine. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

9. Drain your tins of lentils and add to the pan, mixing well.

10. Next add your vegetable stock or gravy and stir in. Pop in a handful of spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Some of the liquid will evaporate.

11. Whilst the pie mixture is simmering, prepare the potato topping. Drain the potatoes, add vegan butter, pinch of pepper, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and mash it all together ensuring there are no lumps. Make sure all your ingredients are well mixed in.

12. Put your pie mixture in the dish and top with the mashed potato, aiming to spread it evenly.

13. You can score the top of the pie with a fork to help get that crispy topping.

14. Cook in the over on 200°C for around 30 minutes or until the top of the pie has gone slightly crispy.

15. Serve with salad, greens or chips!

Tips

If reheating for the next day ensure to cover it with foil and allow around 30-40 minutes reheat time. Use a knife to check the middle of the pie, if it comes out nice and hot it will be ready.

Play around with the veggies you use, peas and peppers are always a great addition to this dish and I often like to add broccoli for those extra nutrients.

If you don’t have some of the ingredients such as Worchester sauce or nutritional yeast it’s not the end of the world! This recipe will work without them, I just use them to add some extra rich flavours. Also if you omit the red wine you might want to up your quantity of vegetable stock or gravy for some extra liquid.

I definitely prefer adding the gravy over vegetable stock as it gives such a deep flavour but use what you have 😊 Unless I have lots of time, I usually cheat and just add a Bisto gravy as opposed to making my own!

I get loads of my ingredients from Buy Wholefoods Online check them out as they have such a range of products at great prices.

Let me know if you give this pie a try, tag and share on social media! Any questions please get in touch.

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