Shepherd's pie with tempeh satisfies on Meatless Monday

​​​​No one's saying you have to go meatless just because it's Monday -- but as an incentive to join the growing Meatless Monday movement, we're featuring an animal-free recipe each week.

Shepherd's pie is a comfort-food staple that contains several of our favorite things: mashed potatoes, tender veggies and a tomato-based gravy. It's every bit as satisfying as its meat-containing cousin, without all the calories, cholesterol and guilt. It's also a little more complicated than anything else we've featured so far, but we're confident that you can pull it off...because we did.

You will need:

2 8-ounce packages of tempeh
1/3 cup tamari
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions
3 cloves garlic
1 cup mushrooms
2 carrots
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon oregano
3 medium-sized Roma tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3 pounds potatoes (we used some Idaho gold)
1/3 cup hemp milk
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 cup vegan butter (we like Earth Balance sticks)
salt to taste

You don't have to take this step, but we highly recommend making your own vegetable broth: It tastes much better than the canned or boxed versions. We take two onions, two turnips, two carrots (peeled), two leeks, one potato, three cloves of crushed garlic, 1/4 bunch fresh parsley and 1/2 cup dill, then coarsely chop all the veggies, place everything in a pot (if you have a stock pot, this is what it was made for) and fill with water until everything is covered. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and let it work, covered, for about an hour and a half. Strain the broth, discarding the veggies; you can freeze this for use in future recipes for up to six months.

Or just buy yourself a can or a box of broth.

1. Crumble the tempeh in a large skillet; add the water, tamari and one tablespoon of oil. Bring to a boil, cover and let bubble for ten minutes.

2. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Place them in a large pot and fill the pot with water (it should cover the potatoes by an inch or two). Bring them to a boil, covered, and let them cook for twenty minutes or so, until they are fork-tender.

3. Meanwhile, remove the lid from the covered tempeh and continue to cook for five minutes more or so, until most of the liquid has evaporated off.