Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Quarantine, Day 41. When doing an athletic event that is challenging for me, I find breaking it into smaller, more manageable chunks helps me mentally. A half marathon is three 5 mile runs put together. So while 13 miles may seem a bit daunting, running a distance I might do on an average day several times in a row seems doable, and hooray, the last segment was over sooner than I expected (only 3 miles)! A 100k hilly ride is four 15 mile segments. This way I have milestones within the total ride that I can celebrate. Attempting to approach quarantine in this manner has been less successful. For one thing, there is no real end time. Right now May 4 is the date in Massachusetts that is circled on everyone's calendars, but it is likely that will be extended. And even if it was definite, looking at it as eight one-week segments isn't helpful in making it seem more pleasant. The mindset that has worked best so far is to just think about the day in front of me, for the most part. If I try to think too far ahead or too big picture, anxiety sets in. In keeping with my day-to-day, be in the moment mentality, the most frequently asked question (to myself) is WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT NEXT? We won't discuss my quarantine meal plan.  It seems strange that having lunch only once per day was ever sufficient.

I daydream regularly about eating out and reminisce about what that was like. I long to eat food prepared by someone else, sitting somewhere other than my living room. My Aunt Roberta's gnocchi and snacks at her and my uncle's kitchen island. Any cocktail and plate of noodles at the Blossom Bar. A mushroom pizza and arugula salad from Prairie Fire, seated at the bar with a St. George's martini. A giant pretzel and a snifter of Sour Face, relaxing in an adirondack chair on the Mighty Squirrel patio. Brb, I have to go get a snack...

Anyway, I've been cooking a lot and trying to be efficient about using everything I have before I venture out to re-stock. It's a pretty big deal to go to the grocery store these days. Last night I had some green beans that were on their last breath and a collection of potatoes, so decided to make a shepherds pie. My friend, Rachel, makes one that I can't seem to stop eating once I start. I've made them in the past, but never recorded any of the recipes. This one is a combination of Rachel's recipe and one I found on line that I used for inspiration. It requires some effort since there's a few steps, but it comes together pretty quickly. It also helps when you're working from home and on a virtual meeting with the camera not turned on, so no one will notice if you're draining lentils at your sink.

Ingredients

Lentils
1/2 cup green or brown lentils
3 cups water
pinch of salt

Mashed Potatoes
4-6 medium yukon gold potatoes (russet or red skin ok too), cut into 1-inch cubes.
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of milk (I use whole)
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper

Pie
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or a combo of butter and olive oil
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup crimini mushrooms, stems removed and diced
1 cup green beans, trimmed and diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, rinsed
1 cup broth
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
salt and pepper
fresh parsley (chopped)

1. Start mashed potatoes. Place potatoes in large saucepan, cover with water to about 1/2 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, until you can put a fork in them and they're soft.

2.  Cook lentils. Place lentils water in salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for 15-30 minutes, depending on the lentils you use. Green will cook faster than brown. You don't want to let them get mushy. They can be a bit al dente because they'll cook more in later steps. When done, drain and set aside.

3. Chop vegetables and prepare all ingredients to put in pie.

4. Finish mashed potatoes. Drain potatoes. Add butter milk, salt and pepper and whip with an electric beater or mix with a potato masher. Make these to your liking, but they should be on the moist side so they don't dry out in the oven. Adjust milk as necessary. Set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 400.

6. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, carrots, green beans and mushrooms. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Add in corn, broth, worcestershire, tomato paste and spices.  Bring to a simmer and let the broth cook down a bit, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Then, fold in the lentils.

7. In a 9X12 baking pan, coat the bottom in a very light layer of oil, then spread the vegetable mixture on the bottom. Layer the mashed potatoes on top of that. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and pepper (optional).

8. Bake for 30 minutes.