Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie With Cabbage.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I don’t know why we don’t make shepherd’s pie and cabbage more often – we always love it!  But sadly, this is one of the few times each year that we take the time to make this meal.  At least with the pie, I have a little bit of an excuse – it requires several different components and, as a result, a bit of time.  With the cabbage, I’ve got no good excuse at all!  I suppose I do use up the cabbage we get each year with our Great Country Farms CSA shipments, but that’s about the extent of it.

And it’s a shame, too, because we polished off almost an entire head of cabbage tonight at dinner and put a considerable dent in the shepherd’s pie itself!  LeeLee made it clear that his vote was solidly in the “Make this more often” camp, and I have to say, I agree.  It’s comforting, filling, hearty, and delicious.  And, multiple steps aside, it’s not difficult to make.

I always use a recipe I got from PETA a hundred (or perhaps a dozen) years ago, and it hasn’t failed me yet.  This time, instead of using a canned mushroom gravy, we used the frozen Tofurky brand, and it was so tasty.  I kept the rest of the recipe intact and was, as usual, very pleased with the results!

Now, I said this dish takes time to make.  Thank goodness that St. Paddy’s Day was on a Monday this year; this afforded me lots of time on Sunday to put everything together!

As the potatoes cooked, I prepared the “meat” filling.  Instead of blending everything in a bowl as the recipe calls for, I cooked the ingredients together in a pan to allow the flavors more time to mingle, and then I poured the veggie mixture into the bottom of my favorite ceramic pie plate.  By the time those shenanigans were over and done with, it was time to prepare the potatoes, which I did with my beloved potato masher.  A little almond milk, a little butter, and I had a fine crop of mashed potatoes just waiting to top the pie!

And so it did, just moments later.  Once I was pleased with the optics of the dish, I placed a sheet of foil over the top and put the pie pan in the refrigerator.  When I was ready to bake it tonight, I just cooked it at 350 for about an hour (maybe an hour and 10), and it was perfectly warm.

In the final 15 minutes that the pie was in the oven, I steamed the cabbage, which I’d pulled off the head with my hands and seasoned intermittently with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.  (When it arrived on the table, I also sprinkled my serving with some nutritional yeast, which I adore.)  The shepherd’s pie and cabbage paired just beautifully with one another – and with the Guinness we served alongside dinner!

:)