Jamaican Yuca Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato, Kidney Beans, and Plantains

This one was super yummy, although I must admit that I wasn't able to get Yuca at the co-op, so I just used more sweet potato as the crust: not exactly ideal, but it was the best root replacement around, and who doesn't love lots of sweet potato. We handled it with grace and aplomb.

Here's a shot of most of the finished product:

And then a couple more as it dwindles off the plate:

And here's the recipe, again, with all credit to the Veganomicon:




Jamaican Yuca Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato, Kidney Beans, and Plantains
Serves 8 or leaves plenty of yummy leftovers
Time: at least an hour

Ingredients:
3-3.5 lbs yuca, peeled and cut into 1.5 inch chunks (or replacement root if desperate)
1.75 t. salt
3 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 0.75 inch chunks
2 scotch bonnet peppers, scored down the sides (super hot, feel free to replace to taste as I did with a sweet pepper)
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried)
1/3 c. water
15 oz coconut milk
1/2 cup of fresh corn (I just used frozen)
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 c. cooked lima beans or an 8 oz can (I forgot to buy these and replaced with peas, but lima sounds nice for next time)
2 ripe yellow paintains, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into half inch pieces
1 tablespoon Jamaican curry powder

Steps:

1. First up, prepare the (yuca) crust. Toss in a large stockpot and cover with water. Cover and bring to boil, add a teaspoon of the salt, and lower heat to medium. Let boil for about 20 minutes, until mashable.
2. Meanwhile, preheat a medium stock pot over medium-high heat. Place the 2 tablespoons of oil, onions, green bell peppers and saute for about 5 minutes. 
3. Add sweet potatoes, Scotch bonnets, thyme, salt, and water. Cover and cook for about 15, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are nice and soft.
4. If you've got multiple ovens or a split oven and broiler, go ahead and turn on the broiler. If not, this just requires a little delay in the middle of cooking. Still working on the best details here for timing.
5. Go ahead and add all the remaining ingredients to the filling and lower the heat, cooking for about 5 more minutes. Remove thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and scotch bonnets and discard.
6. Once the yuca is done, hopefully around now, drain the water and return to the pot. Mash 'em up!
7. Pour the filling into a nice 9 X 13 baking dish and then use a wooden spoon or spatula to cover with the yuca.
8. Bake (at 400? no direction here from my trusted vegan chefs) for about 10 (to 15) minutes, then remove, switch on broil, and return when heated for about 2 minutes. You want a nice, gentle brown on top there, so watch closely.
9. Let sit for about 10 minutes and then serve in a rimmed bowl since it will likely be saucy!