Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Once upon a time at a camp I attended in the summer, I opted for the vegetarian option and it was a vegetarian version of shepherd's pie, or what the French refer to as, 'Paté Chinoise'. The regular entrée wasn't even shepherd's pie, is was something completely different and I am guessing not great looking. But the shepherd's pie looked interesting and certainly intrigued me. It turned out to be a version I liked even better than the traditional. 

Shepherd's pie is traditional meat-laden (usually ground lamb or beef), filled with chopped hard-boiled eggs, mixed with vegetables in a creamy sauce, and topped with creamy, butter mashed potatoes and sometimes cheese. 

There are three vegetarian/vegan versions you could make. The first one would be as traditional as possible, just subbing the closest ingredient options (simulated ground beef crumbles, coconut cream sauce, mashed potatoes with vegan margarine). The second one, which is what I made, is not nearly as traditional, but actually much healthier. I used lentils (brown are a good option for looks, but I only had red on hand). I threw in whatever veggies I had and used lots of spice, and some oil and just a splash of cream for the sauce. Then I topped it with mashed sweet potato because I love them and they go so well with lentils, both taste-wise and nutritionally. A sprinkle of paprika, and dinner is served!!!