Leek and Mushroom Cottage Pie

The secret to getting the topping right is to use cold, leftover mash. If it’s hot when you bake it, it can turn into a sludgy mess. But if it’s cold, this is when it crisps up nicely into a golden brown in the oven. Also a note on veganising recipe, cashew nuts soaked in water and then blitzed make a fine cream replacement.

I haven't made this yet, but when I do, based on the reviews here, I'm going to roast my mushrooms rather than sautee them. Roasting mushrooms at a high heat makes them chewy and meaty-tasting, plus one can do them all at once, so it's less work, and there are fewer pans taking up stove space. I'll slice them, toss them in olive oil, s&p, and a pinch of sugar and roast at 500 for 20-25 minutes, turning once. While they are in the oven, I can get the rest done while mushrooms are cooking.

Tip from a Brit: (A few dashes of) Worcestershire sauce should be as good an addition to a veggie pie as it is traditionally to Shepherd's Pie.

my friends and I are vegan. this recipe is great for vegetarians, but what would you substitute for cream, etc to make it vegan? it sounds delicious, so don’t want to lose the flavor. thank you.

I’ve lightened up the carbs in my cottage pies by using turnips mashed with butter and a few tbsp of sour cream in place of the traditional potato mash. Different, but great taste!

Going off of other reviews I made a few changes that made it taste out of this world delicious: - Equal parts rutabaga/sweet potato/regular potatoes for the mash topping - Added diced parsnips and frozen peas to the filling - Reduced milk in filling to 1.5 cups - Mixture of shiitake/white button/oyster mushrooms and cooked directly in with leeks and parsnips rather than in their own pan - Melted butter and mixed with breadcrumbs along with half a cup of grated parm

Any substitutions for the milk and cream?

For Vegans, the author of this recipe additionally has a recipe on the NYTimes website for Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes - it might be worthwhile to check that one out.

I made this essentially exactly as written. (Well, the thyme in our garden turned out to be beyond salvage so I used dried.) It was good, but not great -- in the end, the leek/mushroom stew was fairly bland (even though I ensured it was adequately salted, and did use the miso). Next time I'll play with the flavorings more to brighten it up, or may play with the peas, lima beans and artichokes version to which David Tanis adverts in the article accompanying the recipe.

I tried the peas, lima bean and artichoke heart version. I wasn't at all sure about how it would turn out, but it was great. Next time I'll add small chunks of carrot and maybe some celery root as well. I used tapioca instead of cornstarch. This is real comfort food extraordinaire.

Potatoes actually have considerable nutritional value! Vitamin C, B vitamins, minerals!

I'm making this tonight, but subbed in some ground beef for some mushrooms (shiitake) since I had everything else on hand and didn't want to go to the store. I added a little more thickener for the gravy, since it didn't seem quite thick enough to be scoop-able without running all over the place, but was the right amount of gravy all together. Seasonings are great. Maybe a bit too much dairy for the potatoes, I ended up holding some of the milk back, about 3/4 cup too, for the topping. YUMM

@ Carol Casey and @ Betsy Chandler, try substituting mashed cauliflower for the milk and cream. You can thin it with veggie milk or thicken it with a bit of cornstarch to get the consistency you want. It's a low-carb recipe trick that I've used successfully for moussaka and is worth trying here!

Had this for dinner but made the filling and topping earlier in the day, then put it together just before baking. A "pop" of colour would be nice, maybe some pieces of carrot next time? I replaced the mashed potato with cauliflower mash (1 large head) and the bread crumbs with some crumbled goat cheese (as that’s what I had on hand) and broiled at the end. I had no miso, so subbed a tablespoon or so of liquid aminos. We had it as a main, and will probably have the leftovers as a side. Very yum!

I added a can of cooked lentils to make it a full meal. Next time I’ll use small white beans.