Vegan Shepherd's Pie

I think the only time I've ever had shepherd's pie was the lentil casserole-based version served at Tea & Sympathy in NYC, but it was delicious.  This recipe comes from Rip Esselstyn's The Engine 2 Diet and is extra healthy.  I've made some changes to my version below to make it more closely resemble a vegan, oil-free version of Alton Brown's recipe, which has a better variety of vegetables and seasonings.  I removed the mushrooms, which I think would taste very good but which I also think would prompt Simran not to eat it.  I also changed some of the preparations, such as not steaming multiple things separately because I find the added work stupid and annoying.

Ingredients
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
½ cup unsweetened soymilk
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green beans
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 carrots, diced small
2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 cup cooked lentils (1 cup dry, before cooking)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tbs Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. [This step can be done in advance.]  Rinse and pick through 1 cup dry lentils (any color -- I plan to use brown or green since they hold up better than the other colors) to get rid of any stones.  Add 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until lentils are tender.  Add more broth or water as necessary to keep the lentils just barely covered.  When lentils are tender, remove from heat and set aside.  If you aren't making the shepherd's pie immediately, refrigerate cooked lentils in a sealed container.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the soy milk, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth.  (I am terrible at mashing potatoes and tend to make them gluey and overworked, so I will probably run mine through my ricer and just stir in the soy milk after that.  It takes longer, but the potatoes are so much fluffier this way.)

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Sauté onions and carrots on medium heat in a large skillet for 5 minutes, until onions start to turn translucent.

4. Add garlic and green beans and stir to combine.

5. Add lentils, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and Bragg’s.

6. Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, adding a small amount of broth as necessary to combine ingredients.

7. Stir in peas and corn and remove from heat.

8. Place the vegetable mixture in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or casserole dish.  (I plan to use the small, deep ramekins designed for souffles, giving us each our own small pie.  Just place them on a parchment lined baking sheet before putting them in the oven.)

 9. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.  (If you want to be fancy -- or have a picky aesthete of a toddler to impress -- you can put the mashed potatoes in a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe them to cover everything.)

10. Bake for 25 minutes or just until potatoes begin to brown.  Remove to a cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving.  (I've never successfully gotten my potatoes to brown before.  If it doesn't happen this time, I'm using the kitchen torch.)

[Edited 9/22/2013:  This was really good.  I made some adjustments to the ingredient quantities above based on taste.  I used a pastry bag with a star tip to pipe mashed potatoes onto the tops of the pies.  Everyone in the house liked it.]