This is sort of like a vegan shepherds pie, but it's not really and if you say shepherds pie, people's mouths will expect that...and then be disappointed. This is really tasty, but say it's a casserole and spare yourself the pain of false expectations.
This is the original recipe I used: Casserole!
But I changed it, somewhat. I figured out that two huge sweet potatoes makes 3 mashed cups of mash. Which absolutely won't cover the top of a 9x13 pan, just so you know in case you're expecting a thick sweet potato crust on top. I added a cup of mashed winter squash to lighten the texture of the yams up a bit, which was also delicious. I used a 8x11 pan to make it deeper and crustier.
Here's what I ended up with.
- 2 large (5-6" long, 2-3" diameter) sweet potatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
- 1cup dry steel cut oats
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 celery stalk, chopped
- 3 T minced garlic (what? I love garlic. Sue me)
- 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 T tomato paste
- 2 T Braggs
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 T nutritional yeast
- black pepper, rosemary, red pepper flakes, sage and oregano to taste.
This recipe is not for those of us who are strapped for time. Just roasting the yams and squash takes an hour, and then the assembled lentils and yam crust takes another 30 minutes in the oven. But it's well worth it! Hearty and super healthy, this bad boy serves 8 and comes in at a rich satisfying 230 calories a serving. Seconds are guilt free! Here's the whole casserole nutritional stats. if you're as much of a food nerd as I am.
some notes:
I diced the onion, celery, garlic and carrots really, really fine. By hand, because Johnny was napping and I didn't want to use the food processor and wake him up (it sounds like a jet engine!) It would be a lot faster to bung 'em all in the food processor, but there's also something pretty meditative about dicing. Music is required, though.
When I was laying out the yams and squash for roasting, I sprinkled them with rosemary, freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, and some garlic salt. The first time I made this according to the original recipe, I felt that the crust was a little bland. The filling gets extra black pepper, sage and oregano. Of course, I am a self-admitted spice whore and can be guilty of over-seasoning things (herbs are delicious! I will also eat a parsley salad, so caveat emptor). You can also use dried parsley, not fresh in the recipe and I promise, no one will come to your door and take you away.
I mixed the apple cider vinegar with the Braggs before adding it- I was out of red wine, this was my substitute. Red wine in this recipe is also delicious but this hits all the same notes in the final product.
after you have poured the filling into the pan and spread out the mash crust on top, sprinkle some nutritional yeast over the crust to give it a faint, delish cheesy flavour which smells amazing when it's baking!
The upside to making this huge pan of casserole that takes a couple of hours from start to finish is that you'll have dinners in a blink for the rest of the week; and like so many things, it tastes better the next day. You can wait until it's totally cooled and cut individual slices and freeze them in tupperware (I use those glass ones with the clip on lids).
This bad boy is best served with a deep glass of your fave red wine and a huge bowl of field greens salad (with slivered almonds, lemon tarragon dressing and roast pear slices. For instance.)
