Vegan Cottage Pie with Pumpkin

Ingredients

• For the pumpkin-potato mash:
• 500 g (17.5 oz) acorn squash
• 500 g (17.5 oz) floury potatoes
• 150 g (5.33 oz) vegan cheddar cheese
• 75 g (2.66 oz) potato flour
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• For the minced meat mixture:
• 350 g (12.33 oz) vegan "minced meat" (e.g. from endori)
• 2 onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 carrots
• 150 g (5.33 oz) mushrooms
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 150 g (5.33 oz) frozen peas
• 3 tbsp canned or frozen corn
• 2 tbsp flour
• 100 ml (0.5 cup) vegan red wine
• 300 ml (1.33 cup) vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• vegetable oil for frying
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut off the ends of the acorn squash, cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and peel. Cut the flesh into coarse pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half if they are too large.

2. 2

   Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with salted water and bring to a boil. Then add the pumpkin and simmer everything for about 20 minutes until both ingredients are soft. Then drain and return the potatoes and squash to the hot pot, so the pieces will definitely be dry.

3. 3

   Coarsely mash the potatoes and the squash. Add vegan butter, grated vegan cheddar cheese, and potato flour and mix them together. The mashed potatoes should not be as creamy as usual. Finally, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

4. 4

   While the potatoes are cooking, peel and finely dice the onions and the garlic. Clean and chop carrots and mushrooms.

5. 5

   Heat vegetable oil in a pan and sauté the vegan "minced meat" over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add onions and garlic, dried rosemary, and thyme, and fry for about 3 more minutes. Then stir in tomato paste and add carrots, frozen peas, corn, and mushrooms to the pan. Sauté everything for about 5 minutes until the tomato paste has darkened.

6. 6

   Dust with flour and add the vegan red wine after about 1-2 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth and vegan Worcestershire sauce and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Finally, season with salt and pepper and remove pan from heat.

7. 7

   Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F (convection oven). Put the vegan "minced meat" mixture into a casserole and spread the mashed potatoes over it. Use a fork to draw patterns in the mash. Bake the vegan cottage pie for about 20 minutes until the top is browned. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.