Peasants Pie

 I didn't want to call this Vegetarian Shepard's Pie, Shepard's Pie has meat and this dish isn't trying to pretend to be something its not. Peasants Pie stands on its own with a rich gravy filled with sweet carrots and turnips, earthy mushrooms and garlic, topped with a slightly cheesy mash of baked sweet potato. 

Peasants Pie is a great Meatless Monday recipe that can be easily made Vegan with a few changes. If you are a strict vegan or vegetarian most Natural Food Stores carry a vegan Worcestershire sauce and you could sub out the Parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast. If you are just going for an easy yet hardy Meatless Monday dish forgo the trip to the store and just use what you have on hand. Sometimes ingredients can be hard to track down, especially if you live in a town as small as mine!

Ingredients:
1 Yellow Onion, diced

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 stalks of Celery, chopped

8 oz Crimini Mushrooms, sliced

2 Turnips (about the size of your fist), peeled and cubed

3 Carrots, peeled and sliced

1 Tbs Oil

2 tsp dried Thyme

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

2 Tbs Flour

1 1/2 to 2 C Vegetable Broth

2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce 

1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar 

For Topping:

2 medium Sweet Potatoes, baked

1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

+2 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan Cheese for top

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a large skillet over medium heat oil, then add onions, garlic and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes then add in mushrooms cooking an additional 3 minutes before adding the carrots and turnips. Next add the thyme, pepper and flour stirring well and cooking until the flour starts to brown. Then slowly add in 1 1/2 C of the vegetable broth, scraping the pan to remove any browned bits from the bottom. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes adding remaining 1/2 C of broth if gravy gets too thick. 

Meanwhile mash the cooked sweet potatoes with 1/4 C Parmesan Cheese. 

Pour vegetables and gravy into a deep pie dish or 8x8 pan. Spread potatoes over top of vegetable mixture and top with remaining Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes.