Lentils and fresh and dried mushrooms give this vegetarian casserole its meaty character. You can prepare most of it in advance and bake it just before your guests arrive.
Recipe information
Yield
10 Servings
Ingredients
Topping
3
3
½
filling
1
¾
6
1
5
3
2
2
2
8
2
2
12
1
2
2
¼
Preparation
topping
Step 1
Preheat oven to 450°. Bake potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then peel. Press potatoes through a ricer, food mill, or colander into a large bowl. Add butter; stir until well blended. Stir in milk. Season to taste with salt.
Step 2
DO AHEAD: Potatoes can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool, press plastic wrap directly onto potatoes, and chill.
filling
Step 3
Soak dried porcini in 3 cups hot water; set aside. Combine lentils, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp. salt, and 4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender but not mushy, 15–20 minutes. Drain lentils and discard garlic.
Step 4
Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 12 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste is caramelized, 2–3 minutes.
Step 5
Add bay leaves and wine; stir, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in porcini, slowly pouring porcini soaking liquid into pan but leaving any sediment behind. Bring to a simmer and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir in broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
Step 6
Strain mixture into a large saucepan and bring to a boil; discard solids in strainer. Stir cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl to dissolve. Add cornstarch mixture; simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in miso. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 7
Preheat oven to 450°. Toss vegetables and pearl onions with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, 5 garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast, stirring once, until tender, 20–25 minutes. Transfer garlic cloves to a small bowl; mash well with a fork and stir into sauce. Discard rosemary. DO AHEAD: Lentils, sauce, and vegetables can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.
Step 8
Arrange lentils in an even layer in a 3-qt. baking dish; set dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Toss roasted vegetables with fresh mushrooms and chopped herbs; layer on top of lentils. Pour sauce over vegetables. Spoon potato mixture evenly over.
Step 9
Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (141)
Back to TopMade this for Thanksgiving, and it was a great main dish entree that offered substance for a holiday. It definitely took a lot of time, and next time I will make the lentils, sauce, and vegetables in advance as noted. I also found that 2 lbs of just yukon potatoes worked out just fine. Would definitely make again!
Anonymous
Columbus, Ohio
11/26/2021
Fabulous! I had some vegetarian and vegan friends over for dinner and this disappeared (4 adults and 2 kids). Meat eaters loved it as well. As other reviewers mentioned the potato amount is too much. I only used 3 lbs of Yukon potatoes and it was more than enough. Recipe worked really well with earth balance butter and non dairy milk. Will definitely make this again.
Anonymous
Vernon, CT
1/24/2021
This recipe is delicious. I made it in one day, one step at a time. I did not find it overwhelming. I did reduce the amount of all the ingredients by at least and still had a full pie.
Lacey
Wisconsin
1/12/2021
Just made this for the first time. It's a lot of work, so make some of them ahead or plan to spend your whole day making this (I did!). A few things about the recipe: Should it be yukon gold OR russet potatoes? 6 lbs of potatoes seems like a lot. I did both and didn't thinking mixing the two types added anything. Just use all yukon. I made 2 pies, one meat filled and this one and the 6 lbs of potatoes were enough for both, which made me wonder if it's really only 3lbs of potatoes. Milk isn't listed as an ingredient for the potatoes either but it's added in the directions. The sauce is so, so good. My wife and I both thought this was better than the meat one I made. Will be making it a few times a year.
hiccup.master9255
Meridian, ID
11/11/2019
So delicious! I make this recipe a few times a year. The first time I made it was about 4 years ago when I was searching for a recipe to make for a dinner with two vegetarian and one lactose intolerant guests. It is a lot of work but it is so worth and you can make each part ahead to avoid doing all the work at once. I have made this vegan (left out butter and milk), vegetarian as listed, and with meat (added beef or venison and beef broth). Every person I have made it for raves about it being the best Shepard’s pie they’ve had. It makes a really large portion so I sometimes make 1 larger and 1 smaller portion and freeze one of them. It freezes really well and again helps to make all the work worth it when it covers two large meals! Love love love this recipe and am making my annual fall dish as we speak!
Anonymous
Marquette, MI
10/11/2019
With one caveat...correct the recipe instructions for clarity. There is no milk listed on the ingredients list, which was my reference when choosing it as I was looking for a VEGAN recipe. As I was following the directions step by step, I was surprised to find that I was being asked to add milk, though in what quantity was unclear, because it was never included in the list! The temperature at which to bake the final assembled pie is also unclear, as the vegetables were to be roasted at 450 degrees, and in my experience a casserole is seldom baked at so high a temperature. If 450 degrees is in fact the correct temperature, it needs to be restated separately from the directions for roasting the vegetables. It was good (once I guessed at the missing ingredients and the baking temp) and I would make it again, timing it so that some of the components were prepared ahead of time as suggested.
4kidsandacat
Atlanta
3/20/2018