Meatless Mondays: Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Here's another classic that works just as well as a Thanksgiving main dish as traditional, meat-based entrees. It's hearty, flavorful, and doesn't have any unfamiliar ingredients. Lentil Shepherd's Pie is a great dish to make for vegetarians at your table (or for everyone if you go meatless this Thanksgiving). This Shepherd's Pie is so tasty that no one will feel like they're missing out.

Although this dish is a bit time consuming to make, it's mostly unattended. One way you could cut down on the time, though, is to make it in stages. Make extra lentils a day or two before, and save them for use in the pie. Or make mashed potatoes the day before and keep them in the refrigerator. Any way you do it, this dish can be partially or completely assembled the day before, and then just popped in the oven right before you eat.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie tastes fantastic served with mushroom gravy and fresh cranberry sauce. Tell us how you prepared the pie in the comments section below.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie
Serves 8

1 pound green lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/4 cup olive oil
3 - 4 medium onions, diced
6 - 8 carrots, diced
6 - 8 celery stalks, diced
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
3- 4 tablespoons tamari, shoyu, or soy sauce
4 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup or more vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika, to taste (or a half-tablespoon of chipotle powder)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
About 8 cups mashed potatoes or other root vegetable mash, see note below
Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

1) Boil 10 cups water in a large pot and add lentils. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Drain and reserve.

2) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions, carrots, and celery for 7 to 10 minutes, or until tender and just slightly beginning to brown. Add mushrooms and garlic, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

3) Making sure that the pan is hot, add the tamari (or whatever sauce you're using), and scrape up the little bits on the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium, add the cooked lentils and tomato paste, stirring well to combine. Add the stock or water, using more or less so the mixture has some moisture but isn't soupy. Add the spices and cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes or so. Salt to taste, and remove from heat.

4) Add the lentil mixture to a 9x13 baking dish or equivalent and spread evenly along the bottom. Top with mashed potatoes, cover with foil, and bake in a preheated oven on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, checking once to make sure it isn't browning too much.

5) Remove the foil and place under the broiler (or increase the temperature to 500 degrees) for less then 5 minutes. You want to make the top just a little brown and crispy, so make sure to keep a close watch. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

*Note on mashed potatoes: You can use any recipe you like for mashed potatoes. I typically replace butter with olive oil and use almond milk as the liquid. For this recipe, you will probably want to use at least a five-pound bag of potatoes. Adding a few parsnips adds a nice sweetness. You could also use sweet potatoes, or any mixture of root vegetables you choose. Just dice them, boil them, and mash them up.

Photo credit: Maggie Hoffman via Flickr