TL/DR – Meatless Shepherd’s Pie. This hearty vegetarian dish has a base of zucchini, carrot, corn, onion, garlic, loads of fresh sage, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with a creamy top layer of Chive Mashed Potatoes. –
This version of shepherd’s pie is straight veggies, no lamb, (what!?) but it has tremendous flavor and texture. It was born out of a need to cook the ridiculous amount of zucchini infiltrating my garden. It also has carrots, corn, onions, garlic and of course, one recipe of Chive Mashed Potatoes. *Note: Traditional shepherd’s pie does not call for cream cheese in the mashed potatoes. Chive Mashed Potatoes can be made without the cream cheese.
Meatless Shepherd’s Pie is more labor intensive than is desirable for a weeknight meal, but devoting an hour on a Sunday to having leftovers for lunch during the week is worth it. It is also a great dish to make ahead and serve for a meatless Monday meal when the last thing you want to do on Monday night is cook!
For the base, in a skillet, sauté the veggies, then add some butter and flour and stir well.
Add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to deglaze the skillet followed by some vegetable stock or chicken stock. Put the veggies into an 8 x 8 baking dish as the first layer.
Top with one recipe of Chive Mashed Potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Meatless Shepherd's Pie
Zucchini, carrots, corn, onions, garlic and fresh sage sautéed and then simmered in vinegar, Worcestershire and vegetable stock make a flavorful base for a Chive Mashed Potato topping. Bake for 25 minutes and a meatless dinner is served!
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Chive Mashed Potatoes, see below
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 c zucchini, diced small
- 1 c carrot, diced small
- 1 c corn, fresh, drained from a can or thawed from frozen
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 1/4 t pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c fresh sage, finely minced, up to 1/2 c if desired
- 2 T butter
- 1 T flour
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 c vegetable stock or chicken stock
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Peel and cut the potatoes, place into the saucepan of salted water and put on a burner to bring to a boil. Gather the other chive mashed potato ingredients listed in the recipe below.
- Step 3 Dice and mince the zucchini, carrots, onions and garlic and prepare the corn.
- Step 4 In a skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, carrots, corn and onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Season with the kosher salt and pepper.
- Step 5 Reduce the heat to medium.
- Step 6 Add the garlic and the minced sage and cook for another minute.
- Step 7 Add the butter to the skillet and allow it to melt. Sprinkle on the tablespoon of flour and stir well.
- Step 8 Add the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and allow it to cook off.
- Step 9 Add the vegetable or chicken stock and stir well, scraping up any brown bits in the skillet. Cook for another 30 seconds or until it is a tad thick, then remove it from the heat.
- Step 10 Return to the potatoes as they finish boiling. Drain them and finish the Chive Mashed Potatoes recipe below.
- Step 11 Spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Step 12 Add the vegetables to the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Top with spoonfuls of the Chive Mashed Potatoes and spread to cover evenly.
- Step 13 Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.
Chive Mashed Potatoes
A creamy, fluffy and decadent mashed potato recipe with fresh chive flavor. Easy for a holiday or just a weeknight.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red potatoes, peeled
- 6 T unsalted butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 T fresh chives, minced
- 1 T plus 1 t kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 t ground black pepper
- 1/2 c milk, 2 percent or whole works best
Directions
- Step 1 Peel the potatoes, cut them into half inch chunks and place them into a large saucepan.
- Step 2 Fill the saucepan so that the potatoes are covered by an inch of water. Sprinkle 1 T kosher salt over the top and bring to a boil.
- Step 3 Boil the potatoes for between 10 – 15 minutes. When they are fork tender, drain well and return them to the pan. Place back over low heat and for 1 – 2 minutes, allow the moisture to cook off. Stir constantly as this takes place.
- Step 4 Add the butter and cream cheese in chunks and mash until the butter is melted and the cream cheese is well incorporated.
- Step 5 Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, ground pepper, chives and half of the milk and mash for another 30 seconds. Check for taste and consistency. Add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the rest of the milk and mash some more.
- Step 6 Do a final taste. If you prefer a looser consistency, add more milk by the tablespoon. Add another 1/4 t salt if you feel it needs more.
- Step 7 Place in a cute serving dish and sprinkle a few more fresh chives on top for garnish.
