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A few days ago I was staring into the refrigerator, wondering what the heck to make for dinner. My husband and I prefer to eat meatless on weekdays to keep things light, but I hadn’t really planned ahead and I was kind of out of ideas. After taking a quick tally of ingredients, I started imagining a warm casserole– something hardy and filling, winter comfort food. Shepherd’s pie! That’s what I was craving. But how the heck do you make a shepherd’s pie without the meat? I don’t like using the ground soy meat substitutes because eating too much soy makes me break out. I thought back to my Vegetable Moussaka recipe, where I used lentils as a meat substitute. I thought it might work in this dish, so I decided to give it a go. With a little creativity and a lot of sriracha, I whipped up something that I’m sure many of you will enjoy! With Purim coming up (a Jewish holiday that is sometimes celebrated with a vegetarian meal), I thought it was the perfect time to share this tasty, comforting Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie recipe with you.

This dish can be enjoyed by people who have a variety of dietary restrictions. It’s vegetarian, and can be made vegan/pareve with a couple of simple substitutes. It’s gluten free if you use a GF tamari sauce. It’s much lighter and healthier than traditional shepherd’s pie, and it’s a great choice for those on a low cholesterol diet. If you use the vegan substitutions, you can serve this as a meatless option alongside a kosher meat meal.

I really like the flavor that Worchestershire sauce adds to this dish, but most brands contain anchovies, which means they can’t be enjoyed by vegetarians. It’s also tough to find gluten free Worchestershire sauce. Wan Ja Shan brand produces an organic, vegan, kosher, and gluten free Worcestershire- click here for information. If you can’t find a sauce that suits your particular dietary needs, use 2 tsp of tamari sauce– gluten free tamari is widely available, and it’s a vegetarian product.

Now, for those traditionalists out there, my topping of choice for this dish may sound strange. I like spice, and lately I find myself adding sriracha sauce to just about everything. Topping my shepherd’s pie with sriracha took this dish from yum to yumtastic. Those who crave sriracha will understand what I mean. Amazing.

If, however, you’re craving a simple, British-style shepherd’s pie without the meat, the sriracha is totally optional. Feel free to sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top, if you’re feeling cheesy. Enjoy!

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