Shepherd's Pie

Rinse and dry the produce. Peel and roughly chop the potatoes. Put the potatoes in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, and put the potatoes back in the saucepan, off of the heat.

Put the TVP in a medium bowl, and rehydrate it with 1/2 cup hot tap water. Chop the chives, thinly slice the mushrooms, and peel and dice the carrots. Put 1 tsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, carrots, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown, stirring, about 4 to 6 minutes.

While the filling cooks, add the vegan butter, rice milk, and 1/4 tsp salt to the saucepan with the potatoes. Mash the potatoes with a masher or wooden spoon until they’re relatively smooth, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Turn your broiler on high. Mince the garlic. Add garlic and tomato paste to the skillet with the mushrooms and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about a minute. Add the Worcestershire sauce, TVP, peas, and an additional 1/2 cup of water to the skillet, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in half of the chives.

Pour the vegetable and TVP shepherd's pie filling into an 8x5 baking pan. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly across the top. Place the baking pan in your oven on the top rack, and broil until the potatoes are lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. You can use a smaller or bigger pan and just broil for more or less time, respectively.

Wipe out the skillet the filling was in, and put it over medium-high heat with 1 tsp oil. Put the spinach in the skillet and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the shepherd’s pie from the oven, sprinkle with remaining chives and serve a scoop on a plate, with the sauteed spinach on the side.