This sheep lover’s pie is our take on a more traditional ‘shepherd’s pie’. The layering of peppered mushrooms, sweet carrots and cabbage, edamame, and fresh swiss chard makes a savory sensation you won’t want to miss! Topped off with our famous garlicky potatoes we always get excited when we have leftovers to eat day after day.
We love this dish because it is easy to use up whatever is in your fridge or whatever your farm has in stock. Speaking of farms, now is a great time to remember we still need to support our local farmers if we want to continue to have access to delicious local food!
If you live in the Portland area consider buying online from The Side Yard Farm https://www.thesideyardpdx.com/. If you live in the Seattle area, Kirsop Farm https://www.kirsopfarm.com/ has an online shopping option. If you live in Roxbury, Connecticut, Riverbank Farm has an online option with a pick up at the garage: https://www.riverbankfarm.com/.
We are great believers in the value of small local farms and farmer’s markets. Right now, many small farms are struggling because a large part of their revenue comes from farmers markets. Social distancing, and in some places closure of markets, means that farms can use any help they can get. Shopping directly from local farms is one way to help, another is to give to local funds that offer grants to farms who have lost revenue. A great way to figure out how to help is to check out your local farmer’s market website.
On the subject of giving back, many of us will have seen, or will soon see, stimulus checks in our bank accounts. As white settlers we are keenly aware that, due to systematic oppression, the pandemic is having disproportionate impact on black, indigenous, and people of color. For example, stimulus checks are being distributed widely, independent of level of need. This means that those continuing to work and seeing less impact receive as much as or more than the most impacted.
For those who have lost jobs or were already in a precarious place, the stimulus checks are a great boon, but Anne’s family looked at their situation and decided that the additional income is not as essential to them as it is could be to others who are bearing the brunt of this global pandemic. They chose to give their stimulus check to local organizations supporting those who are most impacted by the pandemic. We offer this thought: do you need your stimulus check? If you don’t, please consider giving to organizations in your area that are supporting those who do.
If you want some ideas of organizations check out: https://www.sharemycheck.org/
Serves: 4
Time: 2 hours (1 hour active time)
Ingredients
4-6 red potatoes (1 1/3 lb), quartered with skin on
3 tbsp salt, divided
1 head garlic
3/4 cup raw cashews and water to soak
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup olive oil, divided
3 cups sliced cremini (1/2 lb), sliced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 medium onion (1 1/2 cups), chopped
2 medium carrots (1/3 lb), cubed
1/2 lb cabbage, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen edamame
5 leaves of chard, de-stemmed and chopped
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cover the cashews with water and put them in the fridge until you make the mashed potatoes. Roast the garlic. You can do this a number of ways and our two favorite are to use a garlic roaster or a small cast iron pan. If you are using a garlic roaster chop the tops off the garlic, drizzle a bit of oil into the garlic cloves, put this into the garlic roaster and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. To use a small cast iron pan, peel the garlic and place cloves in the cast iron pan with a small amount of olive oil. Roast this in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Either way, the garlic should look golden brown and be very soft. With the cast iron method, it is easier to burn the garlic so make sure to check on it.
Quarter and boil the potatoes in very salty water until tender. The water should taste about as salty as sea water so that the potatoes soak in the water and are perfectly salted when done. Don’t worry if these feels like a lot of salt; you will be draining the water. Drain the potatoes when they are fork tender.
Saute mushrooms in 1 tbsp olive oil until tender and starting to brown, about 20 minutes. When they are soft, add the pepper. Layer the mushrooms on the bottom of a baking dish (we use an 8.5” casserole or a 12” cast iron pan). Layer the peas on top of the mushrooms. It’s okay if they are still frozen.
Saute the onion and carrot about 10 minutes on medium high heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots are starting to brown, stirring regularly. Add the cabbage and cook about 7 minutes longer, stirring regularly, until the cabbage has wilted and released some of its liquid.
Drain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender (we like the Vitamix) with 1/2 cup water until smooth. You can test for smoothness by rubbing some between two fingers. If it feels at all gritty, keep blending. Mash the cooked potatoes with the roasted garlic, cashew cream, 1/4 cup olive oil, and nutritional yeast together. Taste and add salt if needed. There will be salt added to the top of the potatoes once the dish is fully assembled, so be careful not to over salt. Layer the onion cabbage mixture into the baking dish. Salt this layer with 1 tsp of salt. De-stem the chard and chop or thinly slice. Add the edamame and chard before topping the whole dish with the garlicky potatoes. Rough up the top of the potatoes with a fork and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and rough them up again.
Bake about one hour until the top of the potatoes have some crispy, browned sections. Enjoy!
