Serves 8
Time: 1 hour || Active time: 30 minutes
Who among us doesn’t love mashed potatoes? Add something spicy, savory and stewy bubbling underneath and it pretty much takes that love over the top and into creepy obsession territory.
Since I’m about to make my first ever foray into the Lone Star State at next weekend’s Texas VegFest in Austin, I was feeling kinda’ Tex-Mex this week. Enter tamale pie! Well, almost. I realized that I was too low on my masa harina to execute a real tamale pie, but what I lacked in corn flour I made up for in potatoes. And thus the Tamale Shepherd’s Pie was born!
A creamy layer of lime-kissed mashed red potatoes over a succulent and spicy stew of black beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, poblano peppers and corn, with a few of the usual southwestern flavors thrown in. To give it true tamale flavor, a few handfuls of crumbled up tortilla chips tossed into the stew do the trick. It’s the perfect meal for these rainy months at the beginning of Spring. I love how the red potatoes look on top, adding flecks of pretty blush. It makes a ton, too, and leftovers taste just as good.
Recipe notes:
To get this done quickly, boil the potatoes first. Then begin the stew. Both components should come together within half an hour and then you just bake and wait. You can adjust the spice level to your liking by (obviously) adjusting the hot sauce and red pepper flakes. As is, I’d say it’s a low-medium spicy. Don’t forget to preheat the oven right about when you add the tomatoes and corn to the stew, that way everything is ready to go.
OK everyone, enjoy and I’ll see you in Texas!
For the mashed potato layer:
2 1/2 lbs unpeeled red potatoes, cut into big chunks (1 1/2 inches or so)
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 scant teaspoon grated lime zest
3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
For the stew:
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra)
1 onion, diced medium
1 poblano pepper, seeded, diced medium
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, cut in half and sliced 1/4 inch thick or so
1 cup lightly packed cilantro, chopped
1 1/4 lbs plum tomatoes (about 6), chopped
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 ounces tortilla chips (about 4 good-sized handfuls)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons Frank’s red hot hot sauce (plus extra for serving)
3 cups cooked black beans (2 15 oz cans rinsed and drained)
I garnished with: Hot red chilis, fresh cilantro and lime slices
Place potatoes in a pot and submerge in salted water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Drain potatoes and immediately transfer them back into the pot. It’s important to do this while everything is still hot. Give them a quick preliminary mash, then add the milk, olive oil, lime zest and salt. Mash until creamy, taste for salt, then cover and set aside. (Note: I usually add black pepper, but decided not to here so that the lime really shines through. If you feel naked without it, though, go ahead and add some.)
To prepare the stew:
Preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and pepper in olive oil and a pinch of salt, until peppers are softened, about 10 minutes. In the meantime prep all your other ingredients.
Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Add mushrooms and cilantro and cook until the mushrooms have released a lot of moisture, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, wine, salt, cumin and red pepper flakes. Turn heat up and cover the pan, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes. The tomatoes should break down and become saucy (if corn was frozen it may take a bit longer.)
Now take the tortilla chips and crush them into fine crumbs with your hands. It’s ok if there are a few bigger pieces, but aim for crumbs. Add them to the stew and mix well. Since tortillas can be salty, wait until they’re added to taste for salt. Mix in the lime juice and hot sauce, then fold in the black beans and heat through. Now taste for salt and seasonings.
To assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a deep 11×13 casserole (cooking spray works just fine). Transfer the stew to the casserole and even it out with a spatula. Add the potatoes in dollops, and spread it into an even layer.
Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are lightly browned. Stick under the broiler for a minute or two just in case the browning isn’t happening. Serve hot garnished with cilantro, chili peppers and lime.
I would LOVE to try this Recipe, but here in New Zealand I have not been able to find Poblano Pepper’s (even Jalapenos are hard to come by!) or Frank’s red hot hot sauce. Can anyone offer any substitutions for those ingredients? Many thanks!
TikvaNZ, use any pepper, I am in Germany and used random Italian peppers I found, but I think you could also use a bell pepper just fine. Also for hot sauce, use any tabasco sort of sauce or other hot sauce you find, try looking in the “ethnic” section of a grocery store. I have tried all kinds of substitutions with this recipe, and it comes out great!
I love this thing! The site and the pie! Happy days, lee
Finally, another recipe my close minded, anti vegan brother enjoyed. Thank you! =D Photo on instagram: _savetheworld_
This sounds so delicious! I am new to a vegetarian/vegan way of eating and have been struggling with giving up many foods that I’ve been used to eating for years and years. I have really enjoyed looking through your site! Thanks much for sharing such amazing and healthful recipes!
Hey Guys, We love what you do and felt you deserve an award (you probably have a few already!!!) The ‘Thought Provoking’ blog award (http://thebeachhousekitchen.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/the-beach-house-kitchen-voted-for-a-thought-provoking-blog-award/). We hope it brings many new good folk to your lovely blog. Pass it on if you like. Happy days, lee and janex
I made this and my whole carnivorous family loved it. I ate it every day until it was gone. Delicious!! I didn’t change a thing and the recipe was amazing!!
This is absolutely delicious…..2 weeks into Vegan eating and Im lovin it…..GREAT website
Finally got around to making this…. It is absolutely amazing. A new staple around here, one of my favorite vegan dishes! I love that it’s southwest but doesn’t need cheese. I’m not entirely vegan, I have a cheese addiction, and this is just delightful without cheese. Thank you so much!
Delicious! How on earth did you come up with the idea to put tortilla chips in this?! Lovely stuff 🙂
Hmmm, I wasn’t so keen on this one. The hot sauce was a bit overwhelming, and yet there was also something a bit bland about this. I think it would be better with spices instead of hot sauce, and possibly ditching the tortilla chip element too – overly salty.
Too salty = not reading the recipe
I made this last night to take to a friend’s house who is Vegan (I am not) and I put some aside for my family to try. My only request was that they try it Vegan then and only then if they wanted to add dairy they could. Nobody added anything it was absolutely perfect the way it was. So yummy. I will add more spice next time but that’s my personal taste. Excellent I will be trying more recipes from this site soon.
Great to hear! xo
My kids loved this and I did too! I’m making this again.
I love shepherd’s pie and I love tamales! What I also love is hominy which I hardly ever have an excuse to buy, so I find myself sadly walking past it in the store, not this week! I think I’ll put it in this recipe instead of the regular corn and tortilla chips. Mmmm this is going to be stupid good!
I made this and loved it so much while I was eating it that I was thinking of making a second one so I wouldn’t run out!
This is hands down my families favorite vegan dish I have prepared, they are not sold on being vegan, but they sure love this shepard’s pie!
My family and I loved this! I had to substitute sweet potatoes for the potatoes and it turned out great. I love recipes that you can make easily and for company!
made this for a big family gathering of meat-eaters who are super skeptical of vegan food/vegetables in general and more than half of it got eaten, which feels like a victory. thank you!
YUUUUUMMMM! I just made this and it is SO good. I kind of forgot my husband hates cilantro, but he loved it and he is extremely picky. I can’t wait to make this for other people!
Just made this for dinner for the first time…I didn’t have all of the listed ingredients so I had to improvise (used some chipotle peppers instead of the poblano peppers and a few other small things)…It turned out absolutely amazing!! So very good! Definitely going to become a staple in our house!
Can I use navy beans instead of black beans? I already have them soaking :-/
Just made this and it was delicious!! Very hearty and my omnivore family loved it. Isa, you are my hero! Your recipes never disappoint.
Awww, thank you!
I await my succulent first bite of this juicy, moist culinary jubilee. I giggle with glee and anticipation as I pulse my utensils through the peaks and valleys of gently smashed potatoes…the beans peaking through, making their juicy, protein-filled presence known. Thank the lord above for this gift to my gullet.
YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!! Such a good simple recipe, tastes amazing!! Love from across the pond, sunny sunny England x
I made this for a Labor Day family gathering (of which I am the only vegan). It went over quite famously.
I added a small can of green chillies and some caned diced tomatoes (to stretch it).
Thank you!
Fantastic!
This is fabulous! I made it for friends celebrating a birthday, and even with lots of appetizers and a pie to look forward to, we got through half of this sucker because it was so dang good. Next time I make it, though, I think I’ll increase the lime zest, because who doesn’t love the bright, zingy taste of lime zest?
Hey Isa,
We love this in our house, and your Cook book
Isa does it! Every recipe we have made has been excellent.
Try some sweet potatoes up on top, I even put the lime in them
So Delicious !
isa, i made this last weekend from the book, and it blew my mind ggggrrrrraaaaapppeeesss!! i really didn’t know what to expect, i’ve only made one kind of lentil shepherds pie… but this was just so amazeballz. i luff luff luff yew!
Any idea if this would work with polenta instead of potatoes? We’ve used polenta in place of crust for pot pies, but the filling in those was much starchier.
Yum! Can’t wait to try it!
I made this last night for my co-op of 12, and the recipe doubles quite nicely and lends itself to delicious modifications. I supplemented with sweet potatoes, added yellow squash and carrots tossed in with the mushrooms and a chipotle sauce, since I didn’t have corn or poblano. It was like the best vegan tamale (from Austin to San Antonio, I’ve had a few) wrapped in a fluffy sweet potato hug! This was a hit, thank you vegan goddess!!
I’m laid up after surgery on my foot. A friend made this for me (and the chocolate-banana bread!). It is SO GOOD. Oh my gosh; it’s comfort food (mmm mashed potatoes), but it still feels fresh and not overly heavy. After I finished my third delicious serving, I had to look up the recipe to bookmark it. I’ll be making it myself when I’m up and about again–and definitely for other friends that need a good dish when they need some help.
As someone who doesn’t keep alcohol around my home, do you have any suggestions for replacing the dry red wine? Looking forward to trying out this recipe!