not your average vegetarian shepherd’s pie

with cheddar-crusted potatoes and a korean-ish mushroom ragu

not your average vegetarian shepherd’s pie—why? let’s start with the ragu base it’s built upon. the recipe is an adaptation i’ve been making in various capacities for years, based upon one of my absolute favorite vegetarian ragus from the lucky peach presents 101 easy asian recipes cookbook. it’s a dark, thick, deeply savory and spicy mushroom ragu that gets its rich flavor and color from a mix of two korean pastes: gochujang, a fermented chili paste (which is also used in my spicy spaghetti and kimchi käsespätzle), and chunjang, a korean-chinese fermented black bean paste perhaps most known for its iconic role in jjajangmyeon (korean black bean noodles).

i’ve made versions of this ragu countless times and while i usually serve it with noodles or rice, i was curious to give it life in another setting. i had lots of ideas (some others of which will likely come to fruition in the future #watchthisspace lol) but shepherd’s pie was the perfect place to start as the thick ragu has just enough texture and the perfect amount of deep, umami flavor to balance the creamy, cheddar-crusted potatoes. thanks to rosie mackean for the potato hump styling inspo which is very much optional, but very much fun.

this is a very mushroom forward pie, so if you’re not the biggest fan of shrooms, especially the strong earthy flavor and meaty texture of shiitake, this may not be the recipe for you, and that’s totally okay. you can’t win them all. but, you can dial back the mushroom flavor and texture if you’d like: swap 150 grams of regular old button mushrooms in for the 75 grams of dried shiitake and add water or vegetable broth instead of the shiitake-soaking liquid. you won’t get as much texture in the ragu, but you can counteract that by pulsing the mushrooms and vegetables in smaller batches and keep them about the size of your thumbnail.

other adaptions you could make: swap in tomato paste for the gochujang for a rich tomato base, add chili flakes for more heat, use a tablespoon of roughly chopped douchi (chinese fermented black beans) or an equal amount of black bean garlic sauce instead of chunjang, or make the recipe vegan by swapping margarine for unsalted butter, using a plant based cream or milk and topping it with vegan cheese.

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serves 4 - 6

for the spicy mushroom ragu; this recipe is an adaptation of the spicy mushroom ragu from the lucky peach presents 101 easy asian recipes cookbook

75 grams dried shiitake mushrooms (substitute: 150 grams fresh shiitake or button mushrooms)

250 grams button mushrooms

300 grams carrots

1 large yellow or red onion

10 cloves garlic

60 milliliters canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

100 grams gochujang

30 grams chunjang

50 milliliters soy sauce (check the ingredients and use a vegan soy sauce to ensure the dish vegetarian)

for the potatoes

1 kilogram floury potatoes

75 grams unsalted butter

165 milliliters heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

125 grams shredded cheddar cheese

1. the day before you want to make the ragu, add the dried shiitake mushrooms to a large bowl and cover with water. let soak for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

2. after soaking, drain the shiitake (keeping the water for later use) and add to a food processor. pulse the shiitake mushrooms until roughly chopped and transfer to a large bowl. peel the carrots, onion and garlic cloves and roughly chop into large pieces. halve or quarter button mushrooms. add the carrots, onion, garlic and button mushrooms to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped and add to the bowl with the shiitake mushrooms.

3. add oil to a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. add all the chopped vegetables and salt and let cook, stirring often, until softened and visibly reduced in amount, about 20 minutes. in the meantime, add gochujang, chunjang and soy sauce to a bowl and stir until well combined and smooth.

4. once the vegetables are ready, add the gochujang mixture and 200 milliliters of the shiitake-soaking water (or water if you don’t have any soaking water) and bring to a simmer. reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring often, for about 12 minutes or until the oil separates out from the mixture in little bubbles throughout the ragu (see recipe video for reference). transfer to a baking dish (i use a 26 cm/10-inch cast iron skillet) and set aside while you make the mashed potatoes.

5. preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. peel potatoes and chop into even pieces. add to a pot of cold water. season generously with salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. once boiling, let cook for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. drain in a colander and use the pot from cooking the potatoes to gently heat the butter and cream over low heat.

6. once the butter is melted and the cream is warmed, add potatoes to the pot and mash with a potato masher; you could also use a potato ricer to rice the potatoes directly into the pot. mix and mash everything until combined and relatively smooth. add salt, white pepper and about one third of the cheddar cheese and mix well. taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.

7. use a large spoon to dollop the potatoes all over the ragu, covering any visible surface of the ragu; you can also transfer the potatoes to a piping bag and pipe large dollops into the dish, it’s more effort but pays off in a really beautiful pie that’s also simple to serve thanks to little toasty humps of potato perfect for scooping. top with remaining cheddar and bake for at least 35 minutes or until you can see the filling bubbling out around the edges of the skillet and the cheese is melted and just starting to brown in some places. serve immediately.