Forget about the fudge, the cake, the cookies. We are well into January now and it seems like a wholesome tasty dinner recipe is needed. If it’s comforting, colourful and nutritious, well, then it kind of is like icing on the cake, isn’t it? This meal fits the bill. I even give it bonus points because when I started boiling up the potatoes and chopping the red cabbage, I still had no idea—not even an inkling, of what I was going to make for dinner. I’m a bit spontaneous like that!
So elbow deep in shreds of purple, I decided I’d make a Shepherd’s Pie of sorts. I haven’t had much practice in the vegetable pie department, but I did make a very successful pate chinois a while back and figured I had the chops to handle dinner on the fly. So along with the red cabbage, I chopped up some celery, a red onion and got out some frozen corn from the freezer. I wasn’t sure how this mess o’ vegetables would come together, but it turned out way better than I could have ever imagined. Not only was dinner uber-delicious, it was also frighteningly colourful enough to beat the dickens out of grey January skies. Purple food? Why not!
And if purple vegetables aren’t your thing, why not check out my new post over at Food Network Canada to read about my foray into adventurous dining at Vancouver’s The Brave Bull’s House of Steaks.
purple shepherd’s pie
4 potatoes, quartered
2 T butter or Earth Balance margarine
3 T milk (rice or soy works well)1 T olive oil
1/2 purple cabbage, chopped into strands
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 c frozen corn
1 t each dried thyme + basil
2 T hot sauce
salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock1 T olive oil
2 T flour, heaping
1/2 c vegetable stockgrated cheese (optional for top – I used smoked applewood cheddar)
1. Add quartered potatoes to salted boiling water. Cook until tender. Mash with butter and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in onions, garlic and celery and stir around until it starts to sweat. Add in cabbage and saute until everything gets slightly wilty, about 3-5 minutes. Add in herbs, hot sauce and corn and 1 and a half cups of vegetable stock. Salt and pepper if necessary. Bring to the boil.
3. Meanwhile, In a small saucepan, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil, add in 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk around quickly, taking care not to burn the flour. Slowly add in the remaining 1/2 cup of stock and whisk until thickened. Add this to the cabbage mixture, stirring until the sauce thickens up nicely.
4. Add cabbage mixture into an oven proof dish and top with mashed potatoes, spreading the top smooth. Add grated cheese to the top, if necessary, and bake in a 350 degree oven uncovered for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
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i have to admit it doesn’t “look” appetizing. but i am a sucker for shepherd’s pie and it sounds delicious! if you could hide the purple with the crust, it would make a great april fool’s dish.
i have to admit it doesn’t “look” appetizing. but i am a sucker for shepherd’s pie and it sounds delicious! if you could hide the purple with the crust, it would make a great april fool’s dish.
Purple is my favourite colour!
I enjoy purple onions over the other kinds of onions and I love dishes with eggplant/aubergine being from a Greek background…so it would come as no surprise to see ‘the colour purple’ in a dish.
This recipe is definitely a keeper since I have recently begun to embark on a meat-free(but not fish-free) lifestyle.
p.s. I switched to Blogger from Vox ~ Joanne
Purple is my favourite colour!
I enjoy purple onions over the other kinds of onions and I love dishes with eggplant/aubergine being from a Greek background…so it would come as no surprise to see ‘the colour purple’ in a dish.
This recipe is definitely a keeper since I have recently begun to embark on a meat-free(but not fish-free) lifestyle.
p.s. I switched to Blogger from Vox ~ Joanne
a purple shepherd’s pie??? and vegan, no less??? SCORE!!! :0D
a purple shepherd’s pie??? and vegan, no less??? SCORE!!! :0D
Perfect for our northwesty winter weather–hearty fare for the cold grey days! Nice, very nice!
Perfect for our northwesty winter weather–hearty fare for the cold grey days! Nice, very nice!
I love shepherd’s pie. Once, I met a family who had never heard of it. I made it for them, and though they were extremely suspicious of it (really? yes.), they enjoyed it very much. I wish I had thought to put cabbage in it. I can’t imagine what they would have thought had it been purple!
I love shepherd’s pie. Once, I met a family who had never heard of it. I made it for them, and though they were extremely suspicious of it (really? yes.), they enjoyed it very much. I wish I had thought to put cabbage in it. I can’t imagine what they would have thought had it been purple!
Wow. I would be okay with its purplish hue, but I don’t think I could say the same for my fiance’. Even I could hide the tint under the potatoes, I can hear the reaction as he broke the crust: “Uh, sweetie?” “Yeah?” “Did you hurt a Muppet or something?”
Wow. I would be okay with its purplish hue, but I don’t think I could say the same for my fiance’. Even I could hide the tint under the potatoes, I can hear the reaction as he broke the crust: “Uh, sweetie?” “Yeah?” “Did you hurt a Muppet or something?”
Perfect winter comfort food. Would never have thought of using purple cabbage but bright colours are definitely the order of the day when everything is so grey outside.
And I’ve got the answer to Beth’s question – it’s a shepherdless pie 🙂
Perfect winter comfort food. Would never have thought of using purple cabbage but bright colours are definitely the order of the day when everything is so grey outside.
And I’ve got the answer to Beth’s question – it’s a shepherdless pie 🙂
As I think I already discussed on my blog, this shouldn’t, actually accurately be called a shepherd’s pie. When we went to England we learned that a shepherd’s pie has lamb in it, a cottage pie has beef in it and a fisherman’s pie has, well, fish in it.
So this should probably be called something like a vegetarian’s pie. Or maybe a vegan’s pie. Or maybe a psychedelic farmers pie?
I also wonder if it would be even more purple with purple potatoes in the mix?
I once made cabbage soup with red cabbage and it was pretty gross, until you closed your eyes, when it was perfectly fine. It looked mostly grey, but you seem to have preserved the colours just fine.
I once made cabbage soup with red cabbage and it was pretty gross, until you closed your eyes, when it was perfectly fine. It looked mostly grey, but you seem to have preserved the colours just fine.
Mmm sounds delicious. I’ve never had shepherd’s pie. Where did you get the smoked applewood cheddar from? I’ve never seen that before (though I’ve never looked).
Mmm sounds delicious. I’ve never had shepherd’s pie. Where did you get the smoked applewood cheddar from? I’ve never seen that before (though I’ve never looked).
tricia, i agree that this is definitely a bit off-putting to look at, but it is super yummy! even my picky husband ate it up and asked for seconds!
oh, mindy…suspicious of shepherd’s pie? insanity! yes, purple would have really put them over the edge!!
kali, that muppet comment made me laugh! indeed 🙂
joanne, good luck with your vegetarian ways! i was a vegetarian for 10 years so i still make a ton of vegetarian recipes at home.
glad you like this purple vegan pie, veggiegirl!
thanks cakespy!
ah, beth, it makes sense that a shepherd’s pie would have lamb in it! i love that…psychedelic farmer’s pie!haha.
jen, i think this would be great with green ol’ cabbage…this is just what i had on hand and found it super tasty!
lobstersquad, yes, red cabbage does tend to turn grey sometimes, so i’m glad this stayed so bright!
eat me delicious, i got the cheese from costco, but they also have it at the grotto de fromaggio on the drive. it’s super delicious!
yay, hag, more cabbage!! anything with cabbage pretty much gets me excited. i’m weird that way.
tricia, i agree that this is definitely a bit off-putting to look at, but it is super yummy! even my picky husband ate it up and asked for seconds!
oh, mindy…suspicious of shepherd’s pie? insanity! yes, purple would have really put them over the edge!!
kali, that muppet comment made me laugh! indeed 🙂
joanne, good luck with your vegetarian ways! i was a vegetarian for 10 years so i still make a ton of vegetarian recipes at home.
glad you like this purple vegan pie, veggiegirl!
thanks cakespy!
ah, beth, it makes sense that a shepherd’s pie would have lamb in it! i love that…psychedelic farmer’s pie!haha.
jen, i think this would be great with green ol’ cabbage…this is just what i had on hand and found it super tasty!
lobstersquad, yes, red cabbage does tend to turn grey sometimes, so i’m glad this stayed so bright!
eat me delicious, i got the cheese from costco, but they also have it at the grotto de fromaggio on the drive. it’s super delicious!
yay, hag, more cabbage!! anything with cabbage pretty much gets me excited. i’m weird that way.
I love shepards pie,though I haven’t had it in ages…and to make it with red ( purple) cabbage is just great! Yet another use for cabbage!
J – I was a vegetarian for approximately 3 years during my University days but then when I moved to Greece for a couple of years to work – I was surrounded in souvlaki joints and lamb chops and eventually called it quits 😀
Going veg is a great way to cut back on the grocery bill, among other things. It’s been more of a challenge with hubbie who enjoys his meat – but he’s cut back on his meat consumption considerably and only orders it when we eat out.
J – I was a vegetarian for approximately 3 years during my University days but then when I moved to Greece for a couple of years to work – I was surrounded in souvlaki joints and lamb chops and eventually called it quits 😀
Going veg is a great way to cut back on the grocery bill, among other things. It’s been more of a challenge with hubbie who enjoys his meat – but he’s cut back on his meat consumption considerably and only orders it when we eat out.
Brilliant, what a great and unique idea to out purple cabbage in the shepherds pie. Love it!
Brilliant, what a great and unique idea to out purple cabbage in the shepherds pie. Love it!