There are so many veg shepherds pie recipes out there. Google it or search on Pinterest and about a thousand recipes come up. All laden with cozy potatoes and filled with mixed vegetables and legumes. That's all well and good. I mean, I love comfort-food just like the next gal. But when I decided to develop a shepherds pie for WFFF I realized that there were some essential things missing from the sort of shepherds pie I truly wanted to eat. If I'm going to hunker down with a multi-layer meal it needs a range of texture, nourishment and most importantly flavor! And if I can make it colorful and packed with seasonal ingredients, all the better. The result of much fretting and scheming and wandering through farmers markets is this beautiful, golden dish of plant-powered magic. A butternut squash shepherds pie that rules with a noble majesty over all other veg shepherds pie. Full of that sparkling, colorful, clean-burning energy that I so deeply crave as the nights get colder.

When I started developing this recipe I knew that I wanted something that was low-pressure, accessible and full of savory flavor.

It needed to be quick (well... quick for a good-looking centerpiece dish).

It needed to contain ingredients that are easy to find at any market. The only thing maybe hard to find is oyster mushrooms, which you could replace with any common mushroom like button or shiitake or portobello.

And it needed to be made with intelligent techniques that boost flavor in simple ways. So the lentils are made thick and savory with a blender sunflower sauce. The carrots and mushrooms are glazed in cider and sauerkraut juice, for extra sweetness and umami. And the butternut squash is blended with coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, coriander and smoked paprika.

There's nothing sexy about a bland shepherds pie, folks!

I know this recipe looks long! Don't let that stop you. That's what happens when a meal is made of multiple recipes squashed into one recipe. Each part is individually excellent, and pretty low-maintenance.

As for the goat cheddar on top, I lucked out and found some vegetarian hard cheese at my local farmers market. I don't usually go for hard cheeses, but this one is tangy and savory and perfect. A little bit of cheese on special occasions just adds that extra something special.  You could omit it to make it 100% vegan, or replace it with vegan cheese shreds.

Note: this recipe takes just slightly over 1 hour (like 5 mins over). You want to get the lentils, cider glazed carrots and mushrooms and butternut squash going all at the same time. Then the cooking time takes about 25-35 minutes. Then you make your sunflower sauce and stir it into the lentils. And you blend your creamed butternut squash. Layer it all up and bake it off again for 35 minutes or so. Voila!

Oh, and I brought this to an omnivore friendsgiving and it was a hit! Just in case you need some confirmation that this orange beauty is both vegan and omnivore friendly. :)

Peace and plants -- Renee

Butternut Squash Shepherds Pie

Created by Renee on November 21, 2016

Note: this process works best when you get everything cooking at the same time. That’s how you keep the prep, cooking time and headache-factor low. So get the squash roasting, start cooking the onions and set the lentils simmering all at once. If you do that the recipe takes ~ 1 hour.

• Prep Time: 10m
•  
• Cook Time: 1h 45m

• Serves: 8

Ingredients

Creamy Sunflower Lentils

• 1 cup dry blue (French) Lentils
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt + more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper + more to taste

Cider Glazed Carrots & Mushrooms

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet white onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 julienned carrots
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 pound mixed oyster mushrooms, foot removed
• 2 tablespoons sauerkraut or kimchi juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground + more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped (discard the woody stem)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (discard the woody stem)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped

Coconut Creamed Butternut Squash

• 3 Small Butternut Squash (~2 1/3 lbs)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground sea salt
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil / ghee / buttery coconut oil / (up to your preference)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground + more to taste
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed, freshly ground
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 pound vegetarian goat cheddar or vegan cheddar cheese like daiya

Instructions

Creamy Sunflower Lentils

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1. Note: you could skip the extra step of cooking the lentils by using 2 cups pre-cooked lentils.
2. Add the lentils and water/stock to a small sauce pot and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes on medium heat. Cook just until almost no water is left in the bottom of the pot and the lentils are tender.
3. In a blender, combine the sunflower seeds, olive oil, water, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Blend together until smooth and creamy, like an aioli.
4. Stir the sunflower sauce into the cooked lentils. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your preference.

Cider Glazed Carrots & Mushrooms

1. Set a large 12” cast iron pan over medium high heat.
2. Once hot, add the olive oil and onion.
3. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to become somewhat translucent and begins to brown.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the carrots and apple cider and cover (leave the lid slightly ajar).
5. Cook until the carrots have become tender and the cider has cooked off.
6. Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook until they have softened and shrunk and begin to brown a bit.
7. Stir in the sauerkraut / kimchi juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and sage.
8. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, until the liquid has cooked down a bit. Cut off the heat and set the pan aside.

Coconut Creamed Butternut Squash

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Slice the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Rub the cut sides with olive oil and salt. Place cut-side-down on the parchment lined baking sheets.
3. Roast for 25-35 minutes, until the skin is browning and bubbling and a fork inserted into the squash flesh cuts like butter. My small squash needed 25 minutes but larger squash will need more time, so just keep an eye on the squash after 25 minutes.
4. Remove the squash from the oven and set on the counter until cool enough to handle (10+ minutes).
5. Once cool, scoop out the squash flesh into a food processor fitted with an S blade — discard the skin (or eat them as a snack, they’re delicious!).
6. Combine the squash flesh with the coconut milk, coconut oil / ghee / buttery coco oil spread, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, coriander and paprika. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your preference.

Putting It All Together

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Spread the creamy sunflower lentils over the bottom of an oven-safe ceramic baking dish or dutch oven.
3. Add the carrot and mushroom meat next.
4. Then top it all off with the coconut creamed butternut squash.
5. Grate cheese over top (I used a local hard goat cheese similar to asiago).
6. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 35-45 minutes — just until it’s warmed all the way through and the cheese on top is melted and browning.
7. Serve hot, topped with a couple sprigs of fresh sage / rosemary / thyme as you like.