Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe for Dehydrating
Considerations for dehydrating your food:
Add low or no oil to the dish. Oil can cause the dehydrated food to become rancid and spoil it.
Cut all of the ingredients into small, consistent sizes. This helps them dehydrate and then rehydrate at a more similar rate.
Potency of flavour tends to be diminished during the dehydration process, so consider adding a bit of extra spice during the cooking process.
Note: I like to dehydrate this meal separately in 2 categories, which I have grouped in the ingredient list below
Ingredients:
Potatoes:
3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled
3-4 tbsp vegan butter
Salt to taste
Filling:
1 tbsp water or olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ cups uncooked green lentils, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp thyme
Splash of balsamic vinegar or wine
1 10-ounce bag frozen mixed veggies: peas, carrots, green beans, and corn
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions:
Fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and put on high heat. Once pot comes to a boil, add potatoes. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes or so until potatoes are fully cooked.
In a separate medium sized pot, add 1 tbsp water or olive oil and place the pot on medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic to the medium pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, thyme, 1 tsp salt, and tomato paste to the medium pot and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar or wine and let cook down for 2 minutes.
Add green lentils and vegetable stock to the medium pot. Bring mixture to a boil and then cover and reduce heat. Cook for 25 minutes or so until the green lentils are fully cooked.
Once lentil mixture (filling) is fully cooked, add the bag of frozen vegetable and stir in. Remove pot from heat.
Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from heat and strain the water. Mash the potatoes and add the vegan butter and salt to taste.
Do not mix the potatoes and lentil mixture (filling) together.
Please note: during the dehydration process, the flavours tend to lose intensity and become more subdued. You may want to add extra salt and pepper to compensate for the loss of flavour during the dehydration process.
Dehydrating Instructions:
Most consumer grade dehydrators should work for this process. I have one by Hamilton Beach. You can either use the tray liners that come with the dehydrator or parchment paper. I prefer using parchment paper, since it’s easier to remove the food once it’s been dehydrated.
Line all of your dehydrator trays.
Transfer the lentil mixture (filling) onto as many trays as it needs in order to maintain a thin but consistent layer.
If the lentil mixture doesn't fill the entire dehydrator, transfer the mashed potatoes to the remaining trays.
Once the dehydrator is full, turn it on and set the temperature. I usually use 160F and set it for about 20 hours. This meal usually takes 12-18 hours to fully dehydrate on my dehydrator.
You will need to run the dehydrator twice if all of the ingredients do not fit on the dehydrator trays for the first round. I usually put the leftover food in the fridge and then transfer it onto the trays once the first round is fully dried and removed. Ensure you have dried all of your mashed potatoes and keep them separate from the lentil mixture (filling).
Run the dehydrator until the food is completely dry. When you touch each ingredient it should be firm and not squishy nor soft.
Once all of the ingredients are dried, you can remove them from the dehydrator, keeping the lentil mixture (filling) separate from the mashed potatoes.
Put the dried mashed potatoes in a dry blender or food processor. Blend them until they form a consistent powder. Add blended potatoes to lentil mixture (filling) and stir all dried food together.
Weigh out each camp serving and store in a vacuum sealed bag or similar. Each serving should be 150-200g (5-7 ounces) of dried food. Although you may find a different weight works better for you.
Now you’re done! I usually find this recipe makes about 5-7 x 150g camp meals; however, the amount does vary. I find this meal tastes best when I add a healthy amount of salt to it. I hope you enjoy this delicious shepherd’s pie while out in the backcountry!
Rehydrating Instructions:
Hot meal instructions:
Place your dehydrated food into your pot.
Cover your meal with water.
Bring water to a boil.
Turn off your stove and cover your pot.
Let sit for ~10 minutes.
Take off lid and enjoy!
Cold soak instructions:
Place your dehydrated meal in your designated cold soaking container a few hours before you want to eat it.
Pour water into container to cover meal.
Let sit for ~3-4 hours.
Enjoy!
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