Gardener's Pie is the kinder vegan cousin of Shepherd's or Cottage Pie. Everything you need for a complete plant-based meal is in this one dish—beans, greens, and a filling starch. I made a hearty white bean and mushroom stew filled with green beans, peas, and spinach in a rich gravy with lots of herbs, topped it with mashed yellow sweet potatoes, and baked it in the oven until bubbly.
This recipe is big and will make 6 good-sized portions. Cook the stew in a large saucepan or skillet with a lid. Prepare the sweet potatoes in a large pot as well. Bake the assembled pie in a medium to large casserole dish or lasagna pan. For efficiency, it's a good idea to prepare the stew while simmering the sweet potatoes.
Preheat the oven, and cook the sweet potatoes in just enough water to barely cover—2 cups should be enough. Next, clean the spinach by soaking it in a bowl of cold water while preparing the other vegetables. Start making the stew.
Once the stew is simmering, drain, rinse, trim, and chop the spinach and stir it into the stew. For an extra kick of garlicy goodness, grate one of the cloves into the stew when you add the spinach. Add everything to the casserole dish.
At this point the sweet potatoes should be ready. Drain and mash without adding any extra liquid. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes out evenly over the stew in the casserole dish and bake.
Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before serving.
A full serving of this satisfying Gardener's Pie will bring some welcomed warm comfort to your chilly bones.
makes 6 servings
3 pounds yellow sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 cups water
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, divided—one clove minced, one clove whole
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2-398 ml (14 ounce) cans White Kidney (Cannelini) beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1 cup vegetable stock or basic Shiitake Mushroom Stock
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
10 mushrooms, coarsely chopped
227 grams (1/2 pound) fresh spinach, washed, trimmed, and chopped
Place the peeled and chopped sweet potato and 2 cups water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 15 minutes. When the sweet potato is soft, drain the water and mash.
While the sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare the base stew.
To your health and happiness,
Beans and Rice