Curried Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

I discovered out recently that my husband is a huge fan of shepherd's pie. I think the subject by no means truely came up before because after I met him, I became a long term vegetarian. The occasion for the verbal exchange was a take-out meal from a vegan eating place that had a model of shepherd's pie on the menu. Traditionally, shepherd's pie is neither vegetarian nor vegan. Technically now not a pie as there's no pastry worried, it's more like a casserole. The normal components are a ground meat base, together with pork or lamb, with veggies and a topping of mashed potatoes. It's less expensive to make and one which many keep in mind from their formative years as traditional comfort meals.

There are infinite methods to prepare shepherd's pie, and after attempting the vegan model from the restaurant, I determined I was going to provide you with a vegetarian variation of this traditional that also takes place to be vegan. The one we ordered became just too bland for my liking. For more taste and flair, and to in shape my tastes, I decided to curry it up and determined upon Puy lentils, carrots, parsnips, tomato and spinach as the base of the dish. I topped it with mashed potato and candy potato. Because I even have never made shepherd's pie before, I wasn't certain how it might turn out but I'm overjoyed to record it turned into even better than predicted. The consistency of the base was just proper ? Succulent and moist without too much of a liquid issue, with a few great spicing ? All tucked underneath a well browned potato crust. Served with a garam masala spiced portobello sauce thickened to the consistency of a gravy, this meal was pure consolation certainly, mainly along some home made biscuits.

And my husband's verdict? It became the tastiest shepherd's pie he'd ever eaten!

Notes: If I wasn't serving the casserole with mushroom sauce, I would have included some mushrooms as part of the bottom layer for the meaty texture they contribute. This pie can be spiced up or seasoned in any number of ways. It's a fun dish to experiment with.

More comforting potatoes dishes:

Saag Aloo (Spinach and Potato Curry)

Samosa Potpie

Scalloped Potatoes with Best-Ever Mushroom Sauce

Parmesan Potato Puff

On the top of the reading stack: The Complete Coconut Cookbook: 200 Gluten-free, Grain-free and Nut-free Vegan Recipes Using Coconut Flour, Oil, Sugar and More by Camilla V. Saulsbury

Audio Accompaniment: Autechre

Simple Lemon Urad Dal

As much as I enjoy cooking, there are days once I need a meal to come together with little fuss. Dal soups and curries are usually a quality preference. Nourishing and warming, frequently such clean arrangements are the last comfort meals. Soothing and modestly spiced with a lemony undertone, this creamy urad dal pairs well with basmati rice. To get dressed the meal up a chunk more, do not forget serving the dal with cracked black pepper rice.

Any dal may be used in location of the urad dal, consisting of chana, toor or mung dal. Each dal is one of a kind and will alternate the feel and flavor of any dal dish made, so experimenting with various lentils from the pantry will result in a distinctive flavor experience each time. Though I prepare dinner with toor dal more frequently, I used urad dal due to the precise and creamy texture it imparts to curries and soups. In its split and skinless form, it is a as an alternative moderate dal that works nicely with Indian flavors.

More urad dal recipes from Lisa's Kitchen to try:

Urad Dal with Toor Dal and Spinach and Parsley

Urad Dal with Spices

Mung Bean and Urad Dal Curry

Fennel-Flavored Urad Dal Soup

Buttermilk Lemon Scones

Often after I need a brief way to fill out and complement a meal, I will make up a batch of scones or biscuits. They don't take lengthy to prepare and there is no replacement for home made preparations. Over the years I have received a bit of a reputation for making a few fine brief breads, and after years of practice and the hunt to create that perfect biscuit that rises properly with a flaky and layered texture, I assume my efforts have been rewarded. Key to the technique is to use cold butter, not to overwork the dough, and to fold the dough over a few times all through the kneading degree.

These savory scones with only a hint of sweetness have a citrus-y burst from fresh lemon zest and go nicely with any quantity of food or just on their very own with a pat of butter. They are actually fancy enough to serve as part of your excursion meals too.

Other brief breads to revel in from Lisa's Kitchen:

Apple Cheddar Scones

Classic Southern-Style Buttermilk Biscuits

Mini Gruy?Re Scones

Skinny Masala Biscuits

On the top of the reading stack: Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

Audio accompaniment: Master Margherita

10 Most Popular Recipes in 2014

Top 10 lists appear to be all of the issue at the stop of each yr, so I idea it is probably a laugh to peer what the ten most famous recipes I've put up this past yr were. Not as smooth as I idea it would be, but after stumbling round in Google Analytics for a while ? Does everybody else find this device as unintuitive as I do? ? I sooner or later figured it out.

It's clean for me to look firsthand which recipes my husband, pals and own family enjoyed the most over the yr, but it has been very interesting to discover which recipes have resonated the most with my readers and followers. Some I could have predicted ? My baked quinoa falafel bites were probable my personal favorite recipe of the yr, and my saag aloo (or potato and spinach curry) is actually a brand new traditional. The range of meals which you appear to have loved this past year from my weblog suggests me that I need to stay diverse in my personal kitchen ? An clean component for me to aspire to considering I usually like to attempt my hand at all forms of different substances, strategies and cuisines. So I desire that you'll experience my recipes for this coming year as nicely.

Before sharing my top 10 most popular recipes of 2014, I thought it would also be amusing to percentage with you my own favourite components of the beyond yr.

1. Za'atar I was entranced with this popular Middle Eastern herb and sesame seed blend from the first taste. Tangy, zesty and salty, za'atar bursts with such flavor that it really isn't just an ingredient but a star in itself. In fact, it is usually eaten almost on its own, with bread dipped into some good olive oil and a plate of za'atar. It's delicious sprinkled on fresh tomato slices or hard-boiled eggs, and a great ingredient to add to simple oil or yogurt dressings. It's also ridiculously easy to make at home. Coincidentally, Canada's national newspaper also called it the top ingredient of 2014.

2. Eggplant I never used to think I really cared for eggplant at all, until I was given charge of a giant homegrown one by my Dad a couple of years ago. Challenged to cook with it for almost the first time, I did a simple breading and broiling of some eggplant slices and was instantly hooked on the vegetable. Prepared, gently cooked and seasoned properly, eggplant has a delicate and slightly nutty and buttery flavor and adds a terrific contrast in texture in curries, chilies, and many other kinds of dishes. Since that first experiment, eggplant has featured more and more often in my cooking over the past year, and there will be more to come in 2015. I also plan to explore some of the exotic Asian varieties soon.

3. Coconut Coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut sugar, coconut water … in short, almost anything made from coconuts. I've been treated to some generous samples of all kinds of coconut products in the past year, and I've come to appreciate the health benefits of coconuts and the versatility of ingredients made from coconuts. Coconut oil has a relatively high smoking point that makes it excellent for frying, imparting a mild coconut flavor and fragrance to curries and Asian style soups, but it also solidifies at relatively warm temperatures making it an ideal ingredient for raw treats. I've pretty much abandoned brown sugar in my pantry for unrefined coconut sugar, and coconut milk adds a lovely creaminess to any soup or stew that would ordinarily call for milk or cream, so it's great for vegans too. This year I plan to find out how I can use coconut flour.

4. Peanut Butter and Tahini My husband often has to run out of the house in the morning without time for a proper breakfast, so I like to have quick and easy things like muffins ready for him to grab and go. This past year I've been getting more and more into the idea of preparing raw foods in ready-to-eat packages for him instead. Actually, I like having them around for myself too! Having no-bake foods is easy, yes, but preserving the goodness of raw ingredients without processing or cooking means that he's getting even more of the energy that these ingredients can provide. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit are the basic building blocks of raw treats, but nothing makes raw treats tastier and easier than protein-rich natural peanut butter … or tahini, which is basically what is used in the Middle East in place of peanut butter. Who doesn't love these ingredients?

Check out these and other recipe ideas on

Top 10 Recipes of 2014

1. Peanut Butter Rice

It's a bit of a surprise to me that the maximum popular recipe I've posted this yr has been this peanut butter rice with best four components ? One among that's water! But however, we all like actually easy ideas for livening up the ones plain everyday dinner facets that we so regularly have a tendency to forget, and cooking delicate buttery basmati rice with peanut butter makes for an clean and delicious accompaniment for spicy mains.

2. Baked Quinoa Falafel Bites

On the opposite hand, the recognition of this recipe isn't any wonder to me, as it became surely certainly one of my favourite meals of the year. Baked to a crispy golden-brown with quinoa rather than chickpeas, those are lighter than traditional falafels. And in a tiny bite-size ball, they are best to have around as hors d'oeuvres or snacks or just as a cute light meal, which I did several times this 12 months served with a simple tangy lemon, tahini and yogurt sauce.

3. Saag Aloo

Over the years I've recreated ? Or improved upon ? The various famous vegetarian dishes located in Indian restaurants, but for some cause it wasn't until this beyond year that I positioned my hand to the the potato and spinach curry known as saag aloo that is one of the maximum famous North Indian vegetable dishes around the arena. Potatoes are baked and then pan-fried until golden, then simmered with fragrant spices, lemon, tomato and sparkling spinach to create a curry you will need to consume time and again.

Four. Aloo Gobi with Chickpeas

On the opposite hand, I've absolutely made the conventional North Indian potato and cauliflower curry known as aloo gobi numerous instances over time. But this yr I determined to fill it out with a few soft buttery chickpeas to make the curry a entire meal in itself. I do not know why I hadn't thought of it earlier than, but it grew to become out that lots of you thought it turned into an excellent concept too.

5. Baked Falafel with Lemon Tahini Sauce

This was the recipe that brought about the baked quinoa falafel bites later inside the yr. I'd always enjoyed falafels at Middle Eastern restaurants, but I wasn't enamored with the idea of frying them at home, so I got here up with a baked model that become simply as delicious ? Even extra delicious crammed in pitas and served with diced pickles and tomatoes and that excellent lemon, tahini and yogurt sauce.

6. Thai Red Curry Vegetable Soup

Over the beyond couple of years I've emerge as greater acquainted with ? And adept at ? Thai cooking. Thai curry pastes have such particular tastes and aromas, and so easy to make at home, that I typically have a couple of jars accessible to thrown into a short Thai curry. Although tomatoes aren't pretty conventional Thai elements, I got here up with this Thai-fashion "cream of tomato" soup with crimson curry paste and coconut milk and loaded with vegetables.

7. Raw Peanut Butter Cookies

This was the yr that I in reality got into wholesome raw, no-bake treats ? Not to keep time, although this is really a plus, but to hold the goodness of raw ingredients. The maximum famous of all ? And who doesn't like a peanut butter cookie ? Were these smooth, moist, smooth and chewy no-bake peanut butter cookies sweetened with dried fruit. Nothing to experience responsible approximately.

8. Spicy Chickpeas in a Tomato Coconut Sauce

This is the sort of Indian curry I can devour each week ? Easy, colourful, nourishing and delicious. What makes this chickpea and spinach curry a go-to dinner is the addition of coconut milk to the tomatoes to make the sauce a creamy aromatic satisfaction.

Nine. Chickpea Quinoa Vegetable Burgers

This is probably now my very own signature vegetarian burger. Chickpeas, quinoa and fresh vegetables blended into an all-in-one perfect spiced veggie burger served in pita breads with a zesty tomato chutney and pickles made for a dinner that my husband and I lower back to numerous instances during the yr.

10. Beet, Lentil and Vegetable Soup

There's not anything like a bowl of selfmade vegetable soup to comfort the soul and the frame in cold climate, and the traditional flavors of wintry weather root veggies like beets, potatoes and carrots simmered with a bit dried herbs and a dash of paprika with earthy inexperienced lentils did just the trick this beyond frigid spring. It changed into as easy to make as it was hearty, nourishing and warming.

Spicy Portobello Mushroom Chili

It would possibly seem ordinary to name this chili, as it consists of neither meat nor beans. Nevertheless, the portobellos add a meaty texture to this highly spiced dish that is paying homage to conventional chilies. The mushrooms are simmered in a rich and spicy tomato base, in conjunction with some purple bell pepper, resulting in a comforting dish in an effort to warmness you up and satisfy any cravings for spiced up meals. Needless to mention, mushroom enthusiasts like myself with also get their fungus restoration. I served this along some candy potato fries, but it would be quite true with brown or white rice too. To fill it out similarly, serve with a leafy inexperienced salad at the side.

Other chili recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Black Bean and Quinoa Mexican-Style Chipotle Vegetarian Chili

Black Bean Chili with Mushrooms and Toasted Spices

Vegetarian Three Bean Chili with a Cashew-Pistachio Sauce

Broccoli, Quinoa and Black Bean Burrito with Cashew Sauce

One of the reasons, among many, that I don't have a tendency to consume out or carry in is because the food that I make in my very own kitchen is not best greater low cost, however also much greater exciting and nourishing than maximum of the restaurant services available. Take this vegan version of a Mexican classic ? The burrito. Wraps are among my favored comfort foods. When you make them at domestic, you could manage the excellent and quantity of components that get all wrapped up.

In this example, you may not miss the cheese as it's flawlessly balanced, packed full of protein, and pretty pleasant with a lingering sensation of spice. The inclusion of nutritional yeast as part of the sauce provides flavor and texture that is very much like cheese. One of my dining partners become alternatively surprised once I advised him that the meal changed into vegan, with none cheese, soy or otherwise. It's that true and the meal were given rave opinions. I served it up with some baked candy potato fries and a selfmade tomato salsa.

I adapted the recipe from The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. A fairly recent acquisition of mine, I've only recently started cooking from this creative and innovative vegan cookbook that certainly proves vegan meals and treats never need be boring or lacking in substance. This burrito is a pleasing example. I pretty much stuck with the original recipe, but I did add some black beans for additional protein and texture and spiced it up a bit. I've been following Angela's blog for a while now and when I heard about her cookbook, I just knew that I would have to make space on my shelf. I'm glad I did.

This was at the menu with highly spiced sweet potato fries at the aspect and jalape?O salsa.

More burrito recipes to revel in:

Pinto Bean and Avocado Burrito

Jalape?O Breakfast Burritos

Chipotle Black Bean, Millet and Quinoa Burritos

Easy Egg Curry with Urad Dal and Tamarind

Eggs do not feature all that often on my menus, however after they do, I enjoy spicing them up. My brand new egg curry turned into served up for a light dinner after I desired some thing protein-packed however now not extraordinarily time ingesting. Hard-boiled eggs are right here served smothered in a highly spiced and tangy tamarind-based totally tomato sauce with urad dal. The addition of tamarind adds a pleasing sweetness to the curry, with texture from the urad dal and a few zestiness from the tomato.

The elements may be prepped whilst the eggs are boiling. Once the sauce has thickened, the eggs are folded in, warmed and served up in hardly anytime at all. If preferred, serve some rice on the facet.

Other egg curries to attempt from my kitchen:

South Indian Egg Curry

Goan Egg Curry with Tamarind and Coconut

Egg Masala Curry in a Spicy Tomato Gravy

Shahi Egg Curry