Vegan Cottage Pie with a Twist

Inspired by the London Games, Summer Olympic 2012, I made my version of English Cottage Pie or Shepherd Pie.  I don't usually like bland casseroles and decided to put a twist into this casserole.   Therefore, this is not the original cottage pie recipe.  You can find the original recipes in the Internet, I am sure.  Usually, cottage pie includes chopped meat, cream, and butter (and some use eggs).  My version is veganized.  The twist was that I use  Roasted Garlic, Hot Hungarian Paprika, and Walnut Oil (instead of vegan butter), and Daiya Shredded Cheddar Cheese.  I have never made this kind of casserole with roasted garlic.  It turned out to be pretty delicious.   The rich flavor of butter is replaced by the roasted garlic and walnut oil.

Vegan Cottage Pie (Shepherd Pie) with a Twist
Serve 6

Filling ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil or canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
8 oz mushrooms (button or brown), sliced
3 Tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour
12 oz Crumbles Meatless Ground (Boca Brand)
10 oz  frozen Peas And Carrots
1 tsp Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base, mixed with
1.5 cup  warm water
2 tsp. Hot Hungarian Paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mashed Potato ingredients:
1 3/4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
1/2 cup Roasted Garlic, mashed with a fork
1 cup  Daiya Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/3 cup Better Than Sour Cream or soy milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 tbsp  Walnut Oil

Note:  There are already some salt in the Boca Crumbles, No Beef Base, and Daiya Cheese.  Therefore, I added a little salt into this dish but you can adjust it to your own salty taste.

1. Heat a large frying pan or pot.  Add oil to the pan, then, add chopped onions and minced garlic.  Saute until onions and garlic are soft. Add sliced mushrooms saute about 4 minutes.  Add 3 tbsp flour, combine. 
2. Add Boca crumble and break clumps apart.  Add water and no beef bouillon (combined as broth).  Add the frozen peas and carrots. Combine throughly.
3. Add the hot Hungarian paprika and black pepper.  Combine the filling and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes with the skin into cubes and put in a pot with enough water to cover the entire potatoes.   Bring to a boil and simmer for about 35 minutes until they are really tender. 
5. Drain potatoes, while they are still hot, add walnut oil and the  mashed roasted garlic cloves.  Mash the potato until smooth.  Then, add shredded Daiya cheese, tofu sour cream or soy milk, salt and white pepper.  Combine thoroughly.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 3 qt casserole pan with oil spray.  Add the filling into the casserole pan.  Cover with mashed potato topping.  Wet your hands and pat the mashed potato topping into a smooth surface. Sprinkle with more hungarian paprika.  Bake for 35 minutes until the top is brown.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size

11 serving (403.1 g), Calories from fat 98

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 341, Total Fat  10.9g

Saturated Fat 2.6g2.6

Trans Fat 0.0g0.0

Cholesterol 0mg0

0Sodium 761mg858

36Total Carbohydrates 47.9g47.9

16Dietary Fiber 9.4g9.4

38Sugars 5.9g5.9

Protein  21.2g21.2

Vitamin A 104% 104	•	Vitamin C 55%55
Calcium 12%12	•	Iron 22%22