Moogie’s Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

In my post last week, I mentioned a vegetarian shepherd’s pie that my mom made that was really delicious (according to Matt). She was kind enough to share the recipe below. Make this on St. Patrick’s day tomorrow for your favorite Irish vegetarian.

Moogie’s Vegetarian Shephard’s Pie

Ingredients

I lb red lentils (or brown lentils)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
3 carrots cut up
4-5 cups water
1 package of frozen peas
3lbs of portobello mushrooms
2-3 lbs Potatoes
1 stick of butter
~1 cup of whole milk

Wash and rinse lentils.  In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil and add the celery, carrots, onion, parsnip and turnip.  When translucent add lentils with 4-5 cups water.  Bring to a boil and turn to simmer.  Cook for 3-4 hours until the base is creamy and the lentils are very mushy. This step can be done ahead of assembly ( the night before).

Cut up 3 lbs of portabello mushrooms and cook in 2 tbsp of olive oil.  When soft, turn off the heat and drain off most of the liquid.  Reserve the liquid until  you see the consistency of adding the mushrooms to the base.  If you like a more liquid base, add some of the portabella juice.  Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are hot. This step can be done in advance also.

As the mushrooms are cooking, peel and cut up 2-3 lbs of potatoes, depending on how much you prefer.  Cover the potatoes with salted water enough to cover the top of the potatoes.  When the potatoes are soft and mushy, drain off the liquid and mash the potatoes.  Add 1 stick of salted butter and slowly add enough milk so the mixture is nice and creamy, not runny.

In a 9×13 or similar size pan,  line the bottom with the portobello and base mixture.  Smooth the potatoes on top and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until hot.  If you like, pop under the broiler of another 5 minutes until the top is browned.