Shepherd’s Pie

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add remaining oil and eggplant, carrots and onion. Cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for one minute.

Stir in the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up the browned bits on the pan. Cook on medium heat until the stout is reduced to half the amount, about 5 minutes. Add one cup of the vegetable broth, the thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Mix the Bisto with the remaining ¼ cup of vegetable broth. Add to the vegetable mixture. Stir while the sauce begins to thicken. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and butter. Transfer the mixture to a 2 quart shallow baking dish or pie plate (or make individual shepherds in smaller tins to freeze for later).

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a pot with cold water salted water. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender and a fork can easily slip through the center, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes. Melt the butter and heat the cream and rice milk in the pot. Put the potatoes through a ricer and add to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the shallow casserole pan (or pie plate) on a baking sheet (in case the filling bubbles over while coking). Drop spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes around the perimeter of the dish. Use a rubber spatula and spread the potatoes out, attaching them to the rim of the plate to seal the edges (and reduce the bubbling out of the dish). Drop the remaining mashed potatoes in the center of the dish and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake until the edges are bubbling and the top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.