Healthy Shepherd's Pie

Celery only has one "l". I know this to be true.

Starchy potatoes replaced with vegetables, fat heftily reduced, and lean white meat instead of delicious baby animal red meat makes this significantly healthier than previous versions of this dish I've made. Cauliflower and celery root (or celery yak) replace most of the potatoes. They contain more moisture, so don't require additional ingredients such as milk, butter or cream to make them delightful to eat. All that on lean minced turkey, seasoned so you'll never taste how healthy it is.

Start by preheating oven to 375, then boiling celery root, cauliflower and potatoes in salted water. In another pan, brown onions and turkey in olive oil. Turkey needs a little bit of fat to get going, so let's make it a healthy olive oil instead of delicious butter this time. Add garlic, hot pepper, curry, and soy sauce once light browning has occurred.  Once all liquid has disappeared, add flour and mix well. Spread into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour in a bit of liquid to keep the meat sticking together in a bit of gravy after cooking. I used beer, but water or stock would have worked too.

A tray full of food. Healthy food means you can eat more of it right?

By now everything should be soft in the boil pot. Drain and use a hand mixer to mash the vegetables with the legumes. Cauliflower doesn't mash well by hand. Add cheese and mash thoroughly. Add a large handful of spinach and stir in until it has wilted. Spread over the meat mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

This is really tasty for something that is at least theoretically good for you. I would have liked the mash to be a bit firmer, but perhaps it will set overnight in the fridge. I've had a lot worse shepherd's pie that was a lot worse for you. This was really tasty!

Look at that pile of food. Doesn't it look good? Oh yeah, it was good. 291 calories per piece (12 pieces per tray).