Mushroom and Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

I JUST realized on this exact day last year, when I was 5 days postpartum, I had some random energy and craving to make my most favorite comfort food - Shepherd’s Pie! Just a day prior to giving birth to Greta, I went to Trader Joe’s and got all the fixin’s. And RANDOMLY, exactly one year later, I got the same craving for the exact same thing. I’m pretty sure I haven’t had it since this time last year. How crazy — must be that time of year!

I am not a recipe person. I’ll say that time and time again. What I like to do is look at several recipes from a google search of foods that I have, once I conjure up what to do with them (for example “Mushroom, lentil, shepherd’s pie OR vegan shepherd’s pie). I’m not entirely sure how I came up with mushroom and lentil shepherd's pie, but it just seemed to go together to me. There aren’t very many recipes out there that use both, but several that use either mushrooms or lentils. So, I looked at different recipes (I usually just look at the recipes that have 4 + stars and lots of ratings), see what commonalities they all have and then pick out their unique ingredients that sound good to me/that I have available and throw it together. Sometimes it tastes good - sometimes it could use a little work. 

This is definitely a different variation than I’ve made in the past, but it worked out well and turned out very savory. Maybe a little too salty, so I'll back off on the Better than Bouillon next time (which I normally don’t use anyways, but I was short on herbs and stock this time). 

Here’s what I use, usually:

Lentil Filling - baby bella mushrooms (8-12 oz), lentils (pre-cooked from Trader Joes), thyme (had like ⅛ tsp left - usually use more), rosemary (was out), onion, garlic, tomato paste (out - somehow!? Usually always plentiful in the pantry), red wine (sometimes), a frozen bag of peas and carrots (didn’t have this time!), chicken stock (out), corn starch (to thicken).

Mashed potatoes -- cream, butter, salt, pepper, GARLIC -- hand mashed only. 

Since I was out of several things above, I improvised:

Instead of the flavor from the thyme, rosemary, and chicken stock (which I was out of!), I used Better Than Bouillion  chicken and beef flavoring, about a tbsp of each (maybe it was a bit more than that and the reason it was too salty). The beef flavoring was CLUTCH and added a really yummy savory-ness to the dish. I also added a couple dashes of worcestershire (I almost spelled that correctly on the first try). 

Instead of tomato paste (I am NEVER out of tomato paste -- must be a mom brain thing going on), I used about a tbsp or 2 of ketchup. 

Since it needed a little liquid, I just added water and some corn starch to bind and thicken (instead of the usual chicken stock). 

Also, I just happened to have about ⅓ of a bag of frozen peas in the freezer, so threw those in, and I chopped up some carrots and sauteed for a little longer to soften. 

I bought a bag of cauliflower rice (not my favorite thing, but thought it’d be a nice addition) to add to either the potatoes or the lentil mixture. I decided at the last minute to saute it in some butter before adding in the cream and potatoes to mash. It was a good decision - you can hardly recognize the cauliflower flavor or texture and it’s just adding in some extra veg to our diets. 

The variations are endless, y’all! Make it your own!

After the lentil mixture was cooked and thickened and the potatoes mashed, you throw the mash on top and put it in the oven to crisp up! The difficulty lies in getting an even layer of taters on the top without disturbing the lentil layer and making it messy. This time, I found a fun trick to get a nice flat, even layer of potatoes to lay on top of the filling. I used two wooden spoons - one to scoop the potatoes from the pot, and the other to flatten the scoop and then slide the potatoes onto the filling. It worked out great and was a nice, even layer of about 2 inches of potatoes on top! 

Ok, here’s the recipe - what you’ve really been waiting for. Reminder: I do not weigh or measure, so these are rough estimates. Go by your own tastes - add/subtract ingredients as needed. Go with what you have. Trust your gut. 

Ingredients:

Lentil/Mushroom Filling:

• 8-12 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped

• 1 lb package of pre-cooked lentils

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 small shallot, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 4 carrots, chopped

• 1 cup frozen peas

• 1 tsp thyme, dried or 2 tsp fresh

• ½ tsp rosemary, dried or 1 tsp fresh

• 1 tsp worcestershire

• ½ cup dry red wine

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1-2 cups of chicken stock

• 1-2 tbsp of cornstarch

• Salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Potato Topping

• 3-5 lbs potatoes, with or without skin

• ½-1 stick of butter

• 1 cup milk

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

• Over medium heat, add olive oil to dutch oven. Add onions, carrots, shallots, and mushrooms and cook until soft. Add peas and lentils. Break apart lentils with a wooden spoon. Add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring to combine. Let simmer until thickened. 

• Meanwhile, boil potatoes until fork-tender. Once tender, drain. Heat butter and garlic in the same pot. Once the butter is melted and garlic fragrant, add milk to warm. Add the potatoes, salt, and pepper and mash to your liking. 

• Turn off heat on the lentil mixture. Using two wooden spoons, scoop potatoes and flatten with the other spoon. Lay each flattened potato scoop on top of the lentil mixture until covered. Heat in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy on top and the lentil mixture bubbles. 

• Enjoy!

Let me know what you think! It was Greta Approved! Great for practicing that pincer grasp and fishing out the peas :)