Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie-Chuck Hughes Level: 

Easy Total: 3 hr 20 min Prep: 30 min

Cook: 2 hr 45 min Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
 1 spaghetti squash
Roasted Garlic
 1 head garlic
 1/4 cup olive oil
Bread Crumbs
 2 cups bread crumbs  1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
 1 cup milk  1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
 2 eggs, beaten  1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf
parsley
Mashed Potatoes
 5 to 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled,  1/2 cup smooth goat cheese
but not peeled
 1 cup 35-percent whipping cream
 1/4 cup melted butter
 Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetables
 1 medium onion, chopped  6 cups wild mushrooms
 2 carrots, chopped  4 cloves garlic, minced
 2 celery stalks, chopped  1 cup dried du puy lentils (green),
cooked
 3 cups sliced mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. First, cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the
seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Put the garlic head on
a baking tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put in
the oven for 30 minutes or until the garlic is very tender. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs
with the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Mix in the
eggs, basil, thyme, and parsley. Put aside.

Mash the potatoes with the butter, goat cheese, cooked garlic puree and cream to make
them nice and smooth. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Remove the spaghetti
squash flesh with a fork and put it in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

For the vegetables: Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and saute the onions, carrots and
celery over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and
mushrooms and continue cooking until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add
the cooked lentils and the reserved bread crumb mixture. Stir and put aside.
In an 8 by 11-inch/20 by 28-cm baking dish, spoon the vegetable mixture onto the
bottom. Layer with the spaghetti squash, then the mashed potatoes and smooth them
down. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or so, until the top is slightly browned.