A meatless mushroom Shepherd's Pie with plenty of savory flavors. Filled with two kinds of mushrooms, carrots, and peas and topped with a mixture of mashed turnips and potatoes, it doesn't feel like anything is missing from this healthy comfort food. This is also a perfect make-ahead weeknight dinner.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, vegetarian
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 1 hourhour45 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1lbturnips
1lbrusset potatoes
2portabello caps
16ozwhole baby portabella mushroomsor creminis
5Tbbutter
6Tbolive oil
½Cdiced carrot
½Cdiced celery
½lbpearl onionsfrozen peeled*
2Tball purpose flour
2TbWorcestershire sauce
2Tbreduced sodium soy sauce
2clovesgarlicminced
1Tbtomato paste
1 ½Cwater
2tspsalt
1.5tspblack pepper
1Cfrozen peas
2Tbfresh Italian parsleychopped
1tspfresh thymedestemmed and chopped
¼Cshredded colby jack cheeseoptional
Instructions
Peel the potatoes and turnips. Trim the ends off the turnips and cut the potatoes and turnips in half. The potatoes will be larger than the turnips. It's okay since the turnips have a firmer texture. Add to a large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water.
Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until tender or about 30 minutes. Strain and place back in the hot pan. Lid the hot pan and allow the potatoes to steam for another 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and using a hand masher, mash the turnips and potatoes until smooth. Add 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper, remaining Tb of chopped parsley, and 2 Tb of butter and mix to combine. Set aside.
While the potatoes and turnips boil, clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt. Remove the stems from both types of mushrooms. Additionally, you'll need to remove the gills or the dark soft material that lies under the cap of the portabellas. Just use a spoon to scoop it out.
Cut the portabella into one-inch chunks and cut the baby portabellas into slices. Place a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tb of butter and 2 Tb of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add half of the mushrooms to the pan.
Toss to coat in oil and then leave undisturbed for 3 minutes or until starting to brown. Stir and leave undisturbed again until the other side is browned as well. Once cooked, set aside in a mixing bowl and season with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
Cut the celery and carrots into ½-inch pieces. If using fresh pearl onions, cut in half length wise. If you're using frozen, proceed with them whole. Put 1 Tb of butter and 2 Tb of olive oil into the same pan used to saute the mushrooms and place the pan over medium high heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the carrots, celery, and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until soft and brown around the edges. Add the 2 Tb of flour and stir to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine soy sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, tomato paste, water, and ½ tsp black pepper. Stir together and add to the veggies.
Let the mixture come to a low boil and cook for about 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and add to the mixing bowl with the mushrooms. Add the 1 C of frozen peas, 1 Tb parsley, and 1 tsp of thyme and mix to combine.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a medium casserole dish with baking spray.
Pour the mushroom mixture into the casserole dish and spread out evenly. Top with the mashed turnips and potatoes. Spread the potatoes out evenly and as a final option, top with grated colby jack cheese.
Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Let the shepherd's pie cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
This recipe is a great make-ahead. Follow the instruction up to baking in the oven, cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just bake as instructed when you're ready to eat. * If you can't find frozen pearl onions, fresh is fine. Just add about 10 minutes to your prep time to remove the ends and peel the onions. It's not a huge amount so it's not too tedious, but the frozen variety are very convenient.