Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie

I came up with this recipe last year for Thanksgiving; and made it again this year.  It was inspired by/adapted from this recipe at It Ain't Meat Babe.

My apologies for the Christmas themed table cloth, but it is after Thanksgiving so it's okay.  :)

Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie
1 cup lentils, uncooked
1 bay leaf
3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
5 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, sliced and diced
2 medium carrots, sliced and diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 cup mushroom or vegetable broth
 1 14.5-15 oz. can diced or crushed fire roasted tomatoes (regular is fine too)
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
A few splashes of liquid smoke
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar works fine too)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cook the lentils in three cups unsalted water with the bay leaf.  This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour once the water starts to boil, so you will have to watch them.  Add additional hot water if necessary.  Once the lentils are done cooking, drain any excess water, remove the bay leaf and set aside.

Boil the potatoes in water with salt and pepper. This should take 15 – 20 minutes once the water starts to boil.  You will know they are ready when you can pierce the bigger pieces easily with a fork.  Drain any excess water and mash with a potato masher until smooth.  Add vegan margarine and/or non dairy milk until you reach desired consistency; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauté the onions, carrots and mushrooms until tender.  Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Add the broth, tomatoes, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, vinegar and salt and pepper.  Cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Add the cooked lentils and cook until heated through.  The mixture should have some liquid, but should not be overly soupy.  If it is too soupy, cook longer.

Pour lentil mixture into your baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes.  The potatoes can be topped with additional pepper and herbs.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.  

Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes before eating.

Some notes:

*If you've got a mushroom hater in your family, and I do, you can omit them from the recipe.

*Since I omitted the mushrooms I added celery, because I had it around, and it was still good.  I would have even thrown green beans in there too if I had them.

*I didn't have any Vegan worcestershire this time so I used a soy sauce + balsamic vinegar mix. 

*Serve this with Rosemary & Black Pepper Dinner Rolls from here (not vegan).

*This is one of my favorite dishes.  It's so satisfyingly good.