Veggie Friendly Shepherd's Pie

I'm always looking for ways to turn some of my favorite meat dishes into vegetarian-friendly fare. Sometimes tofu is a good substitute for protein in a recipe, other times a few containers of mushrooms add a meaty consistency and complex flavor.  It all depends!  I do enjoy experimenting with recipes, but it can be frustrating when something doesn't turn out.  Mostly because that means I'm going to be hungry!  When I was asked by CBS Minnesota to come up with some vegetarian recipes for St. Patrick's Day, I jumped at the chance.  I wanted to come up with a shepherd's pie that was flavorful and meaty....a recipe where you wouldn't miss the ground beef.  I did some homework, checked out other recipes, and came up with this delicious dish.  I gave some leftovers to my parents, and even my dad, the big meat-eater in the family, loved the mushroom substitution!  That's when I knew it was a good one!  Enjoy this hearty meal any time of the year, especially now that we're experiencing chilly, rainy spring weather.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
adapted from Food Network
serves two
Ingredients
2 medium-sized russet potatoes, peeled and in large dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces of cremini mushrooms, stemmed, wiped clean, and sliced
1/4 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup mushroom stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions
In a large pot, place the diced potatoes and cover with water. Salt the water liberally and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and return to the cooking pot. Add a tablespoon of butter and the milk and mash until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside (or do this during the remaining cooking).

In a large sauce pan or dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of butter until melted. Add in the mushrooms and cook until browned, stirring infrequently. About 5 minutes. Once browned, remove from pan and season with salt and pepper.

Return the pan to medium heat and add another tablespoon of butter. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, cooking until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrot and herbs, cooking again until softened, another 5 minutes.

Whisk together the mushroom stock, red wine, and tomato paste. Add the mixture to the vegetables in the pan to deglaze, using a spoon to scrape up the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the liquid to a simmer and allow to cook until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms back into the pan and cook until the mixture has reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes. Taste for seasonings.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a small baking dish, pour the vegetable mixture. Dot the top of the veggies with the mashed potatoes, using a spoon (or your hands!) to smooth the potatoes over the top of the dish, sealing the edges as best you can. Then pinch the mashed potato topping in spots to create texture, which will help the potatoes get browned and crisp. Bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are a bit browned.

Ruminations on Vegetarianism

I've been a vegetarian for nearly a year now. I find that the most exhausting thing about being a vegetarian is explaining it to people. Most of the time I try to avoid discussing it because it's rarely an issue. I would never request a veggie-only option at a dinner party and there's usually french fries on any menu that I can eat and eat happily. But inevitably the topic comes up and I have to explain my decision to people, either because they are curious or because they take offense. (Why people care what I eat is really beyond me, but seems like these days everything is offensive to at least one person.) My sister is an on-again-off-again vegetarian, so she asked me once with actual interest. After we discussed my reasons, she suggested I write it here. Since I get to decide the content of my blog, I thought it was a good idea!

Every vegetarian is probably different, but my philosophy boils down to three main points.

1) Eating meat is natural.

Humans have evolved in part because of our meat-eating -- we have those crazy, meat-tearing teeth!  We hunted wild animals and obtained the proteins we needed for our brains to evolve.  We domesticated animals and raised them to provide food for our families.  In short, eating only vegetables and grains is not the most natural diet for humans, at least historically speaking.  (I'm sure most vegetarians would disagree with me, but this is my philosophy!)

ancient weapons (source)

2) Eating meat has BECOME completely unnatural.

Our meat consumption in this country is beyond ridiculous.  We eat entirely too much meat.  Part of the reason is because meat has become cheap and easy to come by.  Our domestication of animals for meat consumption has turned into big business.  We raise animals quickly and cheaply without any real regard for the health of the animal AND the health of the humans who eat that animal.  How many times have you read in the news about a meat recall due to e-coli or some other disease?  Too many times.  Instead of taking the time to raise healthy animals that would produce healthy meat, we've taken shortcut after shortcut and now the entire meat industry literally makes me sick.  It's unnatural.  What might be even more distressing than the meat industry is the willing ignorance of so many people.  The information and the knowledge is everywhere.  Books, movies, the news.  But people choose to ignore it because "If I really knew how it worked, I couldn't eat meat anymore."  Seriously?  That's just stupid. 

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

3) If I could kill it, I can eat it.

But the trip from eating only farmer's market meats to full-on vegetarianism had to do with my work with an animal rescue.  It became really hard for me to reconcile my adoration for dogs and cats with my desire to eat cows and pigs (I stopped eating chicken years ago...it's gross).  I understand that culturally, they are different animals to us.  But for me, I could no longer separate animals into pet and food categories.  I simply do not feel comfortable with the thought of any animal being killed.  So it seemed odd that I would eat the fruits of a labor that quite literally makes me cry.  So my new rule became: once I can actually slaughter the animal myself, I can eat the animal.  But if I can't, well then I'll eat rice and beans.  So because right now I can't kill animals, that means I will not eat animals.

(source)

So there you go.  Those are my reasons for being a vegetarian.  Who knows...maybe at some point in my life I'll be comfortable eating meat again.  Maybe not.  But this explains why I'm so nostalgic for meat (except chicken...gross).  I don't have a problem with meat consumption on a general level, so long as the animals are treated ethically and the people have a sense of respect for the animal they are eating.  On a personal level though, I just cannot do it.  But don't be offended.  I'm not offended by you and your steak-eating habits and with the exception of this post, I rarely preach about vegetarianism.  So let me eat my vegetables!!

**There was a great article in Time recently about a meat-eater making efforts to be a little more ethical about his meat consumption.  Remember: you don't have to be a vegetarian to be an ethical eater!**