Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

I made this because my friend asked me for a pie recipe. And what am I, if not a people pleaser?

There are two main components to this, the filling and the potato topping

For the filling you’ll need:

1 spanish onion sliced

7 cloves unbleached garlic minced

7 thai chillies minced

1 large red capsicum chopped

2 large eggplants cubed about 3-4cm

2 black zucchinis quartered longways and sliced

1 bunch of asparagus cut into 2cm lengths

salt to taste

For the topping you’ll need:

1 red onion

1 cup frozen peas

7 small gold potatoes

about a cup almond milk

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp vegetable oil

salt to taste

I started off with the potatoes, dicing into 3cm cubes and then boiling for about 15-20 minutes until they’re fork tender.  Once they’re done, mash with the tahini, vegetable oil and salt and then add as much of the almond milk as you’ll need to get the mash to a creamy consistency. Caramelise the onions in some vegetable oil. When that’s reached, fold in the peas and onions.

For the filling I sautéed the onions until translucent, then cooked down with the capsicums for a few minutes, then stirred in the chillies and garlic  until their raw edge is gone and stir in the eggplant and cook down until soft. You may need to add some water to get this process started. While these are cooking add the zucchini. When that’s almost cooked through add the asparagus as you don’t want these to lose their crunch. At this stage add salt.

Pour the filling into a large oven bake dish and cover with the mash. Bake at 200C for about 25 minutes until the top is lovely and golden and crunchy.

NOM DOWN, FRIENDS.