shepherds pie
4 servings — 40 minutes
Shepherd's pie is one of our favorite childhood meals. It's a super versatile dish, our recipe has layers consisting of tofu and burmese tofu, green peas, sweet potato and cauliflower.
Shepherd's pie is very much like Pâté Chinois, everyone in Quebec refers to this dish as such, but because I suspect it has racist origins (no one is entirely sure where the name comes from) I'm going to refrain from using that term.
Families in Quebec make this all the time, but the traditional version includes meat and creamed corn. This recipe is different, but inspires the same kind of comfort.
Substitutions:
We've made versions of this dish with just cauliflower, or just using tofu, or just potatoes too. We've made it so often we've gone through every possibility. All in all, it consists of a protein layer (tofu, burmese tofu, lentils etc) veggie layer (corn or peas), and topped with a root or hearty vegetable layer (potatoes, pumpkin, parnisps, cauliflower etc).
I've also made a version which consists of cubed, cooked potatoes (or pumpkin), with scrambled chickpea flour and corn.
white cauliflower1 head, small
sweet potatoes1, large
green peas400 g
tofu454 g, firm
soy sauce30 ml
yellow onion1, small
smoked paprika5 g
Shepherds pie
- Preheat oven to 190 °C (375 °F).
- Cut 1 large sweet potato into cubes, and chop 1 head white cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Bring a pot of water (or vegetable bouillon for added flavor) to a boil, add chopped sweet potato and cauliflower and cook until tender.
- Drain, mix with 5 g (1 tsp) of smoked paprika, and purée with an immersion blender. Season with 1.25 g of salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- Take 454 g (1 block) of firm tofu, cut it into fours, then mash it down using your hands. I like to squish the tofu down with my fingers to get a crumbly texture. You can also grate the tofu with a grater. (For a soy-free Pâté Chinois you can also use burmese tofu.)
- In a large pan, brown 1 small yellow onion with 5 ml (1 tsp) of olive oil. Add the crumbled tofu, 30 ml (2 tbsp) of soy sauce and 1 drop of liquid smoke. Cook for a few minutes. Season with black pepper and sea salt.
- When cooked, press tofu mix into bottom of an ~8x8 baking dish.
- Cover tofu mix with the contents of 400 g (1 can) of of green peas (reserve a few for the top) and top with the puréed cauliflower/sweet potato mixture.
- Smooth with a spatula, decorate with some green peas and sprinkle with smoked paprika.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then broil on high for 3-5 minutes to brown the top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with some sambal oelek or some other spicy condiment! Keeps in the fridge for 5 days or can be frozen for 2-3 months.