–E. Voisin, Food Philosopher and Potato Lover
I have a confession to make, the kind of deep dark secret that I would tell only a very close friend, preferably a non-judgmental one who doesn’t cook or care about food.
Here goes: For the first several years of her life, the only mashed potatoes I regularly cooked for my daughter were the kind that come powdered in a box. Shocking, I know. Even more shocking: She loved them, or thought she did. She often ate them as a snack when she was hungry for something substantial, and as she got older, she learned to make them for herself. I’m not proud of this, and in my defense, I tried to buy the “good” kind, the ones without extra, non-potato ingredients. But the fact remains that for years, E thought that mashed potatoes came out of a box.
It’s not that I never made real mashed potatoes, but apparently until recently they didn’t make much of an impression. But then a couple of things happened.
First, “Seaside Cakes Nights” became a family tradition. Our local natural food store and restaurant, Rainbow Grocery, started serving these delicious tofu-based, seaweed flavored croquettes (similar to my “crab cakes”) as their special every Thursday. Along with the seaside cakes come coleslaw and real mashed potatoes drizzled with a light gravy. The restaurant is open for lunch only, but leftovers go to the deli counter in the store where we pick up a complete meal every Thursday night. We’re all addicted, and hardly a Thursday goes by that we don’t splurge on this meal. (It’s Thursday as I write this, so you know what’s on the menu tonight!)
Sometime after this Thursday tradition started, E went into the kitchen to make herself a snack of instant mashed potatoes. It didn’t take more than one mouthful before she noticed that, “Hey Mom, these things don’t have any flavor!” She never finished that plate of potatoes and hasn’t wanted instant potatoes since.
So these days, I mash a lot of potatoes. I buy the Yukon golds and mash them with the skins on, to keep all the fiber and vitamins. I don’t add any any margarine, just a little soymilk and some of the potato cooking water, and you know what–we all like them better than the ones from Rainbow.
My time-saving trick is to use my KitchenAid stand mixer to do the mashing–it’s quick, and they come out lump-free. (My other confession is that this is about the only thing I use my KitchenAid for, despite the promise I made to my husband when he gave it to me for my birthday last year to use it to make bread. It’s become the world’s most expensive potato masher.)
Anyway, that was a long digression, the only point of which is this: My daughter loves mashed potatoes. So, when she saw me making them last night, she got all excited and started dancing around. But then she took a look in the skillet simmering on the stove and said, with a disgusted intonation that only a child can muster, “What is that?!”
I ignored the tone and explained to her the concept of shepherd’s pie, a traditional English dish of meat (generally lamb) and vegetables baked with a topping of mashed potatoes. But, I went on, since I was making a vegan version, I was calling it a Gardener’s Pie. And I wasn’t going to bake it but make it much more quickly on top of the stove. “Well, whatever,” she snorted. “It looks yucky, and I’m just going to eat the mashed potatoes off the top.”
Somewhere along the line, her plans changed. I think it was when I was taking the photo of the pie in the spoon. She asked if she could have what was on the spoon after I finished shooting it, I agreed, and she got herself a plate. Pretty soon, she was back with her plate, asking for more. By the third time she helped herself, she was exclaiming that this was her New Favorite Dish, fourth in line behind lasagna, mac and cheese, and sushi. Now that’s rare praise! But the kid has good taste. We all loved it so much that it’s going on the regular dinner rotation, and it may even supplant Seaside Cakes.
Skillet Gardener's Pie (Vegan Shepherd's Pie)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes
- 1/2 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 large onion , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 large carrots , diced
- 2 ribs celery , diced, leaves minced and reserved
- 8 ounces mushrooms , diced
- 2 cups fat-free vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans , drained (1 16-ounce can)
- 2 cups green beans , cut in 1″ pieces (may use frozen)
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary , minced (or 1 tsp. dried)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves , packed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- extra rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes and cut them into cubes. (I leave mine unpeeled, but if you want you can peel them before dicing.) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Reserve a cup of their cooking water, if possible, and drain. Place in a large bowl, add the non-dairy milk, and mash until smooth, adding a little of the potato-cooking water if they seem too dry. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and set aside in a warm place.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the “pie” filling. Heat a large non-stick or cast iron skillet on a medium-high burner and add the onions. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, and sauté for 3 more minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, kidney beans, green beans, reserved celery leaves, and herbs. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes and all vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste (I added a little hickory smoke salt). There should still be some liquid in the pan, but if it has become too dry, add a little of the potato-cooking water. Add the spinach and stir until it’s completely wilted. Mix the corn starch with the 2 tablespoons water until smooth, and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring, until mixture has thickened.
- Spoon the potatoes evenly over the top of the filling and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. If potatoes have cooled, put the skillet under the broiler for a minute or two. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Tash
February 11, 2012 at 3:15 ami made something similar to this tonight, its still cooking, before going vegan i used to love making vegetarian potato pie but with a tomato based sauce that i would make out of fresh basil and tomatoes, even though i used to eat meat (up until a week ago) i used to regualry make vegetarian dishes and this was always a favourite of mine. One thing i always like to add is either sweet potato or pumpkin (or both considering on my mood) to the potatoes for mashing on the top, i always sprinkle the top with dried rosemary and parsley and then add what i call my “secret spices” which basically consists of fresh grinded sea salt, fresh grounded black peppercorns and some sweet or smoked paprika 🙂
Becky Medley
September 17, 2012 at 6:57 pmThis was a delicious, stick to your bones kind of meal. I think it’s one “new plant strong” eaters would find filling and tasty. I also think my carnivore friends would love it. This is going to definitely be a winter comfort food!
I omitted the rosemary and used bourbon salt & bourbon pepper to season. I also used unsweetened almond milk in the potatoes which gave a hint of sweetness that we really liked paired with the savory vegetables. I found I didn’t need as much liquid as the recipe recommended. Overall, a wonderful addition to my recipe collection! Thanks!
k
September 21, 2012 at 2:50 amHello
Do you have any thoughts about raising children on this low fate vegan diet
Thanks for your thoughts and references
You website is so beautiful and is my go-to place for recipes
Sincerely
K
Linda
September 30, 2012 at 8:28 pmSusan,
I’ve been exploring going vegan after seeing Forks Over Knives, and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. In doing so, I landed on your website on Friday and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with all the vegan recipes you have posted on it! I am beginning transitioning ever-so-slowly to a vegan lifestyle, and this dish was absolutely wonderful! This will definitely be one of my “go to” comfort foods. Warm, hearty and oh-so-filling! YUM! My husband loved it too – he said it went great with his meatloaf and salad.
I look forward to trying more of your recipes in the future!
Thanks for all you do on this site and all the information you provide!
Linda
Frances
December 8, 2013 at 6:37 pmWhen I originally commented Iclucked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time
a comment is added I get several emails with the same
comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Cheers!
Susan Voisin
December 8, 2013 at 6:43 pmSorry about that! Sometimes the software goes crazy. You should be unsubscribed now.
Marian Gleason
February 2, 2014 at 9:47 pmWe had this for dinner tonight (Super Bowl Sunday, 2/2/2014) and Bill told me to put this on the “Hit Parade” – he wants it more often!! Thanks, Susan!!
trish
March 12, 2014 at 6:12 pmi made this several times with lentils. oh. so. good. it’s my husband’s favorite!
LATOYA FELTON
November 1, 2014 at 6:19 pmThis was DELICIOUS! I cannot wait to bring this to my Thanksgiving Dinner this year! I’ll be serving these in individual ramekins some w/ cheddar cheese some without! I think my vegan/ vegetarian option may peak a few taste buds this year!
Rachel
May 14, 2015 at 11:13 amI’ve tried this and it is amazing. I love a lot of your recipes. Although we are not vegans I try and make more and more veggie based dishes. Trying to wean off of meat. I do have a question about serving size. I’m trying to really focus on my food calories. What exactly is your serving sizes? A cup? So many ounces? Thank you!
Chen
September 5, 2015 at 8:55 amOf all the vegan shep’s pie recipes I’ve tried, this one is by far the best. My husband agreed too! Your recipes never disappoint Susan. Thank you <3.
Sandra
May 23, 2016 at 5:58 pmI guess I can substitute the soy milk (since my boobs are big enough as they are and don’t like the taste) for plain milk (not my favorite thing either but when cooking, to me it’s the best option. Hardly use it except for like Dutch pancakes and some other recipes)?
Ps. Don’t like stuff like almond milk either and not a vegan. 😉
Billie St. Marie
June 5, 2017 at 10:52 amYour recipes rock….thank you
Kathy
June 11, 2017 at 8:36 amI love that you called it Gardeners Pie! I’ve been making something similar and never knew quite what to call it. Vegan Shepherds Pie sounded lame. Gardeners Pie it is! And so tasty!
Rosemary
August 27, 2018 at 1:25 pmExcellent recipe: my grandsons love it. I did add ½ tsp curry powder and a tablespoon tomato paste and left out the sage. I love how it can all be in my cast iron skillet.