I was trying to decide what to do with the handful of random veg I had kicking around in my veg box (a medium parsnip, a couple of carrots, some brussel sprout leaves, leftover shredded lemony sprouts). Turns out, shepherd’s pie is a good place for random, lonely veg.

Ingredients

• 300-400g of the protein you have around (I used a vegan mince, but any mince or lentils/grains, or combo would work)
• a few Brussels sprout leaves finely chopped
• a stalk of celery and carrot finely chopped
• small onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (if using a plant-based mince or lentils)
• 1 tablespoon of marmite (if using a plant-based mince or lentils)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/3c flour
• can of beer
• additional stock or water as needed
• 4 or so medium to large potatoes, chopped
• medium parsnip and carrot, chopped
• 1/2-1 cup leftover cooked shredded sprouts
• couple of tablespoons of whatever dairy or non dairy butter you like, and a bit of dairy of non-dairy milk to loosen up the mash, if your potatoes are a little dry

Method

• Sauté onions with finely chopped celery, carrot, and brussels sprout leaves for about 7 mins.
• Add the mince of your choice, and stir until cooked, which will depend upon the mince you are using.
• When it looks like all is cooked, add tomato paste, marmite and soy sauce if you are using a plant-based mince or lentils, and garlic powder.
• When everything is well mixed, sprinkle with flour and add the beer and mix well. Cook until reduced and mixture starts to thicken. If it looks like the mince is absorbing all the beer, add some stock or water. Stir every minute or two, and allow to simmer gently for 15 minutes, keeping an eye that it doesn’t stick or burn. You don’t want there to be some gravy, just not a soup.
• Meanwhile put potatoes, parsnip, and remaining carrot in a pot of salted water, and boil until tender enough to mash.
• When the root veg is tender enough to mash, drain, add butter, and mash. Stir in leftover shredded sprouts. If your potatoes are very dry, you might need to add a bit of milk or non-dairy milk to loosen it up.
• Spread protein mixture in an even layer on the bottom of a medium casserole dish or a series of small casserole dishes, and carefully top with potato/root veg/sprout mixture. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and dried herbs if you like.
• Bake at 180C/3500F until golden, 25 to 30 minutes.