Sheppard’s Pie

It’s officially fall and the produce is rapidly moving  toward fall and winter vegetables; squash, yams, turnips and other root vegetables.  This is also the time of year when we turn to more comforting foods, and there is nothing more comforting than a Sheppard’s pie on a chilly evening.  I can remember eating Sheppard’s pie when I was younger; my mother would use up her left over roast beef or pot roast dinner.  Each time it was different depending on what type of vegetables we had with our roast, but it was all good.  In my attempt to try to cut back on meat, I found this is a vegetarian version that I in the Whole Foods Market Cookbook; it uses tempeh rather than meat.  If you aren’t familiar with tempeh, it is a soy based meat substitute that resembles the texture of ground meat when it is crumbled.   It is a combination of soy beans, nuts, grains and seeds and comes in a variety of flavors.  Tempe can be grilled, sauted,broiled, or used in stir fries;  It has more of a meaty texture than tofu does.

Back to the sheppard’s pie — one of the things I love about  it is that it can be made in a variety of ways using whatever you have left in your fridge.   I think next time I will try  ground turkey or chicken  with traditional mashed potatoes, even some leftover Thanksgiving turkey with sweet potatoes and vegetables – so many possibilities – Yum!