Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie w/Cheesy Cauliflower Topping

Serves 8

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Adapted and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I had tested Spring Vegetable Shepherd’sPie with Turkey recently and we loved it.  However, I wanted to try something similar but without meat.  I found this Martha Stewart recipe, but because I loved the riced cauliflower and Boursin cheese topping of the turkey version, I decided to use the same topping for this vegetarian shepherd’s pie.  Riced cauliflower is now available frozen and is very convenient. Traditional shepherd’s pie is topped with mashed potatoes, but the cauliflower-cheese topping is absolutely delicious and a bit healthier too. This dish had an issue that I needed to address, but it tasted very yummy and so I thought I’d post this recipe with how I dared to adapt a Martha Stewart recipe. 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste*

1 Tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (I used Annie’s Naturals.)

1 bay leaf

1 cup French lentils, rinsed

4 cups water**

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons water

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup frozen peas

2 (12 oz.) packages frozen riced cauliflower

1 (6.5 oz.) package light garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese (such as Boursin)

Heat the oil in a large soup-type pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring, until tender, about 6 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until tender and most of the moisture is cooked out of the pot.  Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, 4 cups water**, and lentils; season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes or so.  If the filling seems too soupy or watery, in a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons water.  Pour the “slurry” into the filling, stir and then allow to cook until the filling thickens a bit.  Add the peas.  Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer the mixture to a 2½-3 quart baking dish.*** Prepare the frozen riced cauliflower according to the package directions.  Place the cooked cauliflower into a food processor along with the cheese.  Process until well blended.  It should look like mashed potatoes.  Dollop over the hot filling and spread.  (It may sink in a bit, but forge ahead.) Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until bubbling.  Allow the shepherd’s pie to stand for about 20 minutes before serving to allow it to set a bit.  Serve with a crisp green salad.

*After spooning out 1 Tablespoon tomato paste, measure out by tablespoons the remaining tomato paste into an ice tray.  Freeze the tomato paste and then put them in a freezer-friendly container and pop them back into the freezer for another time.

**The original recipe called for the 4 cups water, but after following the directions, the filling seemed to be very “soupy” and I worried that the pie filling would not thicken up.  So, I ended up adding a “slurry” of cornstarch and water to the filling and cooking until it thickened up some.  I think next time, I will just add 3½ cups water and then see if that makes a difference.  You might try doing that and then you may not need a thickener.

***The original recipe called for a 2-quart baking dish, but I only had a 2 ½ quart dish.  Thank goodness, because the mixture came almost to the rim of the dish.  So, be sure to use a dish that has at least a 2½ quart capacity.

Nutritional Info: (1 of 8 servings) By my calculations, 1 of 8 servings = 248 calories and 8.0 grams fiber.