Vegan parmentier

I have already made lots of recipes on the model of shepherd’s pie, but never the “original”. Finally put in big quotes because I obviously made an entirely vegetable version, as beef normally does 50% of the job (or I would rather say 1/3-2/3 but maybe I’m wrong), c is obviously a slightly different version.
I therefore offer you today without further ado my version of minced meat without meat!

Shepherd’s pie without meat

Textured soy protein to replace the texture of meat

If you can easily modify this recipe and adapt it to seasonal vegetables, and with lots of different protein sources, I wanted to come back to the simplest possible version in this article.
I remember that what I liked in the small frozen trays was the impression that the pieces of meat were in tiny pieces, and that in the end, we were more likely to let them slide with the mashed potatoes than to chew them.
To stay in this state of mind, I therefore chose to take textured soy proteins of very small size.

I don’t often talk about textured soy protein, but I’m using it more and more on a daily basis, and I have a few recipes waiting to be done for the blog.
They have several qualities: they are a good source of protein, they can be kept “dry”, are very inexpensive, and can be used in many preparations.
Although I love tofu, it can start to get really expensive when there are several of you, while the textured soy proteins swell a lot on rehydration and allow you to make very nice portions!

Season your meatless filling well

I remember the last time I ate meat. My mom had made lasagna with tofu rosso, I had an impossible slab, she had grouped the leftovers, with and without meat, in a single dish. You guessed the rest: I bit into a piece with beef in it, and then really, I think that before stopping the meat, you don’t realize how strong the taste of beef is.
As a result, the idea not being to eat a bland dish, and soy proteins not being the tastiest on earth, we will cook them intelligently to give them flavor, and nothing regret beef.
This is also a very common mistake in vegan cooking; it is easy to say that something is tasteless, when all it takes is a few tricks to make things very tasty! But without that, half-crispy soy protein with nothing in it sure doesn’t look great in a dish.

Already, I rehydrate my soy protein well. Often those found in organic stores are a little stiff, more in any case than those that can be ordered on the internet and which are a little better. Except that I’m always too lazy to order stuff on the internet (particularly also because between that and what I get for my work here and what you don’t see, I’m sick of going to take away from cardboard to the recycling center), and therefore those from the organic store suddenly taste much better!
Do not skimp on the broth used to rehydrate them: I put vegetable broth and tamari sauce.
My broth powder is salty, but I advise you to take a reference without salt because it quickly becomes too much.
Then, when I cook my soy protein, I add brown miso and a little agave syrup. We then come to perfectly find a slightly caramelized flavor that we find in the meat when it is browned, and which comes to give character to the dishes.
And then also, let’s face it: I add some very small cut carrots, and some onion, because everything tastes better with onion.

A little parenthesis, you will certainly say to yourself that you never eat miso and that it makes you sweat to buy it. As much as white miso is lost quite quickly, as much as the brown miso I buy is unpasteurized and is therefore a pure fermented product, it keeps for 6 months, I use it very often to spice up my stews or “simulations” and it really is a very interesting umami flavor to adopt. The conservation obviously holds if you avoid sticking your fingers and dirty spoons in it.

Succeed well with mashed potatoes for shepherd’s pie

There on the photo, we are clearly on the configuration where I screwed it up because I did not have a heavy enough hand on the liquid. But it’s a matter of taste.
Here I love the smooth, almost liquid side of the mash: it can be eaten without hunger, and it allows not to have a dry/pasty effect in the mouth.
Small size detail, I also add fat in the mash, for that I choose margarine, take one whose taste you like, otherwise it can spoil the pleasure for you because in hot version, I find that it is where the flavors stand out the most.

You can optionally add breadcrumbs, but I didn’t want to. Because after all, I’m the only one putting it on, so might as well do it how I feel, right?

For the other shepherd’s pie recipes (or almost) on the blog:

• Chili sin carne hash : based on red beans, textured soy proteins, and tomato sauce, it is super comforting and well seasoned.
• Parmentier with smoked tofu and leeks : It took place during the Vegetablesand condenses two flavors that go together very well, to know the smoked flavor and the leek
• Carrot hash with a garnish of lentils and button mushrooms : an economical and slightly sweet version, for a complete and comforting dish.
• Shepherd’s pie with squash and chanterelles : For a festive version, which matches the atmosphere of the end-of-year celebrations!