Celebrated chef and cookbook author Annie Somerville, master of the brilliant menu at renowned vegetarian restaurant Greens in San Francisco, has graciously shared a vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe with Examiner.com readers. At Greens restaurant, she serves these Shepherd’s Pies with Pinot Noir Mushroom Sauce and Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup Glaze. These would make a great entrée if you have vegetarian guests over for your holiday dinner, or they would work as a side dish for a traditional turkey dinner. For more vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, see this article from last year which features two easy recipes for butternut squash and chard from Alice Waters, and one pumpkin soup recipe from Rachael Ray.
Somerville is the author of Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes from the Celebrated Greens Restaurant (Bantam Books, 1993) and Everyday Greens (Simon & Schuster, 2003). Her recipes have also been featured in many publications including Gourmet, Food and Wine, and Vegetarian Times.
Wild Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Shepherd’s Pie with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Executive Chef Annie Somerville, Greens Restaurant
This is Greens’ twist on the classic shepherd’s pie. We bake the pies in individual baking rings for an elegant presentation. Make the parmesan mashed potatoes, caramelized onions and roast the mushrooms a day ahead of time to simplify the preparation.
Makes 6 individual pies
Ring size: 3 1/8-inch diameter by 1 3/4-inch high
For Parmesan Mashed Potatoes:
The potatoes need to be firm and dry to hold the pies together so drain them well before mashing. There will be extra potatoes when you assemble the pies.
Ingredients:
3 pounds Yellow Finn Potatoes
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated, about 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons chopped chives or thinly sliced scallion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
• Peel the potatoes, place in a large pot, and cover with cold water. (If they’re large, cut into halves or quarters to speed up the cooking time.)
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until completely tender for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Drain in a colander.
• Heat the cream and butter in the pot, add the potatoes and mash until smooth.
• Mix in the Parmesan cheese, chives or scallions, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Set aside to cool.
For Caramelized Onions:
Ingredients:
2 medium yellow onions, sliced in half moons;about 3 cups
Directions:
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper.
• Cook the onions over medium heat until they’re soft and a deep golden color for about 20 minutes, using a wooden spoon to loosen them from the pan as they caramelize.
For the Wild Mushrooms:
Ingredients:
2 or 3 medium portobello mushroom caps
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds assorted wild and cultivated mushrooms, quickly rinsed
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh herbs: combination of flat leaf parsley, thyme, oregano and/or sage
3 ounces Asiago cheese, grated, about 1 cup
1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated, 2 to 3 tablespoons to sprinkle over the pies before baking
Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Place the Portobello caps gill side up on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.
• Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender.
• When cool, slice into thin fillets. (The portobello fillets will be used to line the bottom of the rings when assembling the pies.)
• Cut the wild mushrooms in large pieces of similar size. Toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Roast on a sheet pan until tender for about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Drain, cool and coarsely chop. Combine with the onions, herbs, and Asiago cheese; you should have about three cups.
To Assemble:
• Oil the inside of six baking rings and place on lightly oiled sheet pan.
• Layer the Portobello slices, slightly overlapping, on the bottom of each ring. (Chop leftover portobellos and add to the mushroom mixture.)
• Distribute half of the mushroom mixture over the Portobello slices.
• Press 1/4 cup mashed potatoes over the mushrooms; follow with the remaining mushroom mixture.
• Top with about 1/3 cup potatoes, mounding the tops into a smooth dome.
• Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
• Bake about 40 minutes until tops are golden. Allow to sit in the rings for 5 minutes so the pies set up.
To serve: Use a metal spatula to transfer the pies (in their rings) to a serving platter. Gently run a paring knive around the inside of the rings to loosen the pies, and then lift off the rings.
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