Comfort Food

My friend Jess made this WONDERFUL vegetarian Shepard's Pie a few weeks ago, so I decided to give it a try.


Sweet Potato and Chickpea Shepard's Pie


Ingredients:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed well
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt
1 tbsp butter
3 to 4 tsp mild curry powder
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cooked chickpeas, homemade or from 2 15oz cans (I went the 2 15oz can route...)
1 1/2 c vegetable broth
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (I left this out)
1/4 c regular or low-fat sour cream (I used nonfat greek yogurt and it was great!)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the sweet potatoes. (I made them in the microwave.  If  you want to see the directions for how to bake them, look at the original recipe here).

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion; season with salt to taste. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened, then add the butter and 3 teaspoons of the curry powder; season with pepper to taste, stirring to combine.

Stir in the chickpeas, 1 1/4 cups of the vegetable broth and the brown sugar; once the mixture has begun to bubble at the edges, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.  Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed, adding some or all of the remaining teaspoon of curry powder.  

Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of vegetable broth with the cornstarch in a measuring cup.  Add to the chickpea filling: increase the heat to medium-high so the broth comes to a boil.  When the liquid has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.  Transfer to an 8-by-11 inch or similar size or similar size baking dish.  (Obviously, I didn't add the cilantro).

Cut each sweet potato in half length-wise.  Scoop the sweet potato flesh from the skin and transfer to a large bowl; discard the skins.  Add the sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste; use a masher or large fork to smash the potatoes until the other elements are thoroughly incorporated.  (I probably used a little more like 1/2 a cup yogurt... but it's fat free!)

 

Drop dollops of the sweet potato mixture on top of the chickpea filling, spreading them with a small spatula to cover the filling completely.  Bake (at 350 degrees) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling up around the dish.

Serve warm.

Costs:

Sweet potatoes: $1.56

Onion: $0.87

Chickpeas: $1.78

Broth: $2.99

I had everything else on hand, so it cost me a total of $7.20, or $1.20 per serving.