Tofu, Mushroom, and Mashed Potato Casserole

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  The first full week of school since winter break just came to a close, and I’ve had to take some time to get back into the swing of things – though we have been cooking up a storm!  Regular posting should resume from this point forward.

I found this recipe in Eating Well Magazine and thought it looked delicious — a real comfort food if I ever saw one.  Any time I see a layered mashed potato dish, I can’t help but think of my mom’s Shepherd’s Pie (which I’m fairly certain was a far cry from the real thing, but we loved it), made with seasoned ground-beef, mashed potatoes, and canned corn.  This seemed like a vegetarian, grown up version of that, and I decided I had to make it.

We did, however, make some changes to the recipe.  The magazine said you could serve this bad-boy up as a vegetarian main course, but in case you couldn’t tell from previous posts, I’m a fan of sorta all-in-one meals.  So I figured if we could up the veggies and add some protein, we’d be set.  It turned out pretty well I think.

Justin and I both agreed that it needed “something.”  A few dashes of Tabasco Sauce on mine and I was in heaven.  Justin didn’t agree that that’s what the “something” was though – his jury is still out on that one.

Regarding the type of mushrooms used: the magazine said to use one and a half pounds of either cremini or white.  We had half a pound of white mushrooms already in the fridge, but creminis were on sale last week, so we mixed them.  Feel free to change the ratio if you like.

Inspired by Eating Well Magazine

(makes 8 large servings)

• 3 1/2 pounds potatoes (whatever kind you prefer mashed – we like red)
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved
• 1/2 pound white mushrooms, halved
• 1 1/2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar)
• 1 large egg plus one large egg white, beaten
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped shallots (you could substitute onion)
• 5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 14 oz. package extra-firm tofu, rinsed and drained (no need to press here)
• Approximately10 cups chopped spinach (if using baby you could probably forgo chopping)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (mushroom broth would be nice if you have it – we didn’t)
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• liberal amounts of salt and pepper

Wash potatoes well and cut into 1 inch pieces.  (We didn’t peel ours because we prefer the added texture and fiber of the skins, but feel free to peel yours if you prefer.)  Place in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a gentle boil.  Cover pot and continue to boil until the potatoes are extremely tender.

Meanwhile, put the mushrooms, in two batches, in your food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped into fairly small pieces.  You could do this step by hand with a knife if you don’t own a food processor, but be sure to set aside a good chunk of time to do it — you want them pretty small and it’s a LOT of mushrooms!
When the potatoes are super tender, turn off the heat, drain well and return them to the pot.  Add the butter and mash until they’re mostly smooth.  Stir in the butter milk and eggs and season to taste with salt.

Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the shallots and garlic, and cook until starting to soften.  Add the mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates, so that the pan is just about dry (this takes a while, but you’ll know when it’s happened).  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Crumble the tofu into the pan and turn the heat up to medium-high.  Continue cooking, giving a stir once in a while, until the tofu is heated through and parts of it are starting to brown.  Stir in the spinach and allow it to wilt.  Whisk the broth and flour together in a small bowl and add the mixture to the pan, along with the rosemary and more salt and pepper.  Continue to cook while stirring until the mixture is bubbly and thick.

Preheat your oven to 400°.  Spread half of the mashed potatoes evenly into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan or baking dish, and sprinkle them with half of the Parm.  Spread the tofu-mushroom mixture over this, and then very carefully cover with the remaining mashed potatoes.  Spread the remaining cheese evenly over the top.

Bake until the casserole is hot throughout and the top is golden brown, around 35 minutes.

We actually assembled our casserole earlier in the day during one of Justin’s breaks from school and then refrigerated it.  If you want to do this too, I suggest baking it for half an hour at 350°, covered by aluminum foil, then uncovering it and boosting the temp up to 400° for about 20 minutes.

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