My Mom really didn’t make shepherd’s pie as a dish growing up. She had a few other casserole things she did, but not too many. My Dad hated casseroles.

It was at college in Wisconsin that I was introduced to the shepherd’s pie. It was any number of rich, hearty, perhaps not entirely-good-for-me fare I came to love in the Midwest. Despite this deep appreciation, for some reason I’ve never actually made it myself.

Until tonight.

I made a shepherd’s pie in a cast iron pan filled will onions, garlic, tempeh, carrots, celery and roasted Brussels sprouts. In is mixed a golden gravy made with caramelized shallots & garlic, red & white miso, nutritional yeast, Earth Balance, fresh parsley and pepper (whole wheat flour & water too). The mixed up veggies and gravy are topped with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.

I cannot believe I haven’t tried this before!

This diner was so good. Hearty, rich, and topped with mashed potatoes! The gravy, a real experiment, turned out so nicely and it only has a little bit of added fat to it (and I sense I’m onto some kind of vegan Swedish meatballs with this gravy). Although we discussed what else could be used instead of the tempeh, it wasn’t because it wasn’t incredibly tasty and totally satisfying.

There is no recipe. I was in a kind of Zen work-practice mode with cooking tonight, so I am mindful of everything I did. But I just cooked food. I will be making this again and there will be a recipe soon, my friend Vicki has requested it to add to her Meatless Monday dishes.

Used from Organics to You: carrots, celery, onions, garlic, shallots, potatoes, parsley

The name is kind of a mouthful, but it describes it perfectly. So tasty and simple. Come July I’ll be dreaming about this dish.

The Stuff

The Making

Pre-heat oven at 350F.

Trim Brussels sprouts of outer leaves and slice in half. Toss with olive oil and a sprinkle of the sea salt & fresh ground pepper. Pour into 9×12 baking pan and roast in oven until sprouts begin to brown in places, about 15-20 minutes, then remove from oven.

Pre-heat cast-iron grill pan on medium. Slice tempeh into 1/2″ strips. When cast-iron is hot, reduce heat to medium low. Spray tempeh with canola oil and sprinkle with garlic pepper. Grill tempeh on both sides until golden and set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. Move sprouts to sides, add tempeh strips into the bottom of the baking dish, and scatter sprouts around evenly. Drizzle maple & balsamic mixture evenly over all of the sprouts and tempeh. Return baking dish to oven and continue to roast in braising liquid for another 10-15 minutes.

I served this up with the most beautiful roasted potatoes from Organics to You:

Taking a little over a pound of fingerling potatoes washed and cut into 1″ chunks. These are then microwaved for 4 minutes, stirred, and microwaved for an additional 3 minutes. The par-cooked potatoes are then tossed in a bowl with olive oil, sea salt and a little fresh ground pepper. Roast potatoes in a pan at 350F until golden brown on all cut sides, stirring about half-way through – approximately 30-45 minutes. If you’re making this with the sprouts & tempeh, start the potatoes first and they can roast in the oven alongside the sprouts.

Serves 4.