September 29, 2014(updated May 5, 2022) // by Phoebe Lapine // 27 comments

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Lentils and Mushrooms

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Last week, despite my jetlag from Jackson Hole, I spent my Monday preparing vegetarian shepherd’s pie and playing hostess. Usually, the idea of getting friends together over good food is enough to motivate me beyond the worst post-wedding weekend fatigue. And this gathering was extra energizing in that the occasion was not just that I had 10 types of casseroles to test that day, but to raise money for a good cause.

A few months ago I was asked to help spread the word about Lauren Bush Lauren’s new FEED Supper initiative. Over the course of one month, leading up to World Food Day on October 16th, the initiative is trying to raise money for 1 million meals. Instead of a series of big benefit galas, the power of FEED Supper lies in community gatherings for good. To participate, all you have to do is host a dinner. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine, ask guests to give $11 to FEED, which amounts to 10 meals donated. The math is easy and empowering—with just a table of 7 girls (and a few other generous no shows), we were able to raise nearly 4,000 meals.

I had been looking forward to the dinner for weeks and wanted to design a menu that was easy to transport, since my friend Sophie volunteered her beautiful terrace as the venue (which is a lot more worthy of the price of admission than my coffee table). I also wanted to choose a main course that was affordable for people to replicate as hosts, leaving more money in the budget for donating meals or feeding additional guests.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate that hunger and food insecurity was not a reality of my childhood. In the spirit of sharing some of the pleasures and comforts from my mother’s table, I decided to do a vegetarian shepherd’s pie with lentils and mushrooms as the filling. Not only is it incredibly cheap to make (just ask the Irish peasants of yore), but you can easily prepare the dish start to finish a few days in advance.

I tested out this version prior to the event and then did a little creative spin the night of with a semi-sweet potato mash as the topping (another childhood favorite). For the meat eaters, I threw together some gluten-free meatballs and a radicchio salad with bacon vinaigrette. Stay tuned for those recipes.

We set up the buffet table inside with some of the craft paper placemats and conversation starters in the FEED Supper kit, and left the rest of the FEED flair for our outside seating in the garden. Best of all, I got my very own West Elm FEED denim apron to make me look like an official host, and ensure that I didn’t get shepherd’s pie all over my dress as I shoveled it towards my face.

If you’re thinking of getting some friends together over a meal, consider making your dinner into a FEED Supper! Let me know if you do by leaving a message in the comments and I’ll help spread the word about your meal. I promise that giving back in this way is 10 times more energizing and rewarding than 100 sugar packed slices of this eaten alone in front of the couch. To add to my FEED campaign, no spatula necessary, hop over here.

xo
Phoebe