Thank you, Rachael Ray: Mushroom-Kale Shepherd’s Pie

There are a few recipes that are in the rotation, as Alex puts it. These are things we make repeatedly as tried-and-true favorites. There are many, many other things that are on the list. I find daily inspiration on blogs, in my cookbooks, and from seeing ingredients I want to use. There so many things I want to try. And there’s the third category, which (oddly enough) I can’t think of an appropriate name for. These are recipes that I am compelled to make as soon as I hear of them.

I recently came across one such recipes in the most unexpected place: on 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray. I was channel surfing and caught the beginning of an episode with her talking about making a vegetarian entree. She had my attention. Full disclosure: she had my attention because she was scraping the gills from some portabellas. I watched to see why she was doing that. In the end, she said she normally leaves them alone but some finicky eaters may want their ‘bellas gill-less.

She was making meatless shepherd’s pie with a base of portabella mushrooms and kale. Also in the soupy base is carrot, onion, garlic, and stock, plus rosemary, nutmeg, and Worcestershire. I used my Bourbon Barrel vegan worcestershire and some fresh rosemary left over from the scones I made.

The original recipe tops this with mashed starchy potatoes along with parsnips, horseradish, and sharp cheese. I gladly omitted the cheese and reluctantly omitted the horseradish. The only vegan horseradish I could find was in mustard, which might not have been that bad. All the prepared horseradish was in a mayo-style base. Does anyone have any advice on horseradish for me? In defiance, I considered using wasabi powder but restrained myself.

Horseradish or not, this was a tasty, tasty meal. We made a full 13x9 pan and ate it all. The soupiness you see in the mushroom-kale mixture was a great accompaniment to my tater topping. This dish has earned a spot in the rotation.