Foodblogging: Special Occasion Veggie Shepherd's Pie

This was my first Thanksgiving where I did not eat any meat.  I ate this  shepherd's pie as a main dish -- sorta, because the sides are the real reason to be excited about Thanksgiving anyway.  My father-in-law made some crazy good sweet potatoes and I think I ate more of those than anything.

This recipe is really meant to use leftovers.  I imagine it would take forever to make from scratch start to finish in one go.  You can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge.

Special Occasion Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Veggies:
1 zucchini
2 tomatoes, seeded
1 delicata squash, seeded
2 small onions
3 Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
9 oz baby bella mushrooms
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled
olive oil
salt & pepper

Chop all the veggies into slightly-larger-than-bite-sized chunks.  They will shrink when roasted.  Put them all into a big bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Get your hands in there and make sure the oil is coating everything.  Arrange all the veggies on as many baking sheets as it takes to get them all into a single layer (it took me two).  Roast in a 450 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes, switching the pans around and stirring after 10 minutes, until the veggies are slightly browned on the edges but not cooked through.

Potatoes:

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes
1/2 cup half & half + more if necessary
4 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper

Peel the potatoes, boil them until tender, drain them.  Mash with half & half and butter.  Season with salt and pepper.

Spinach Alfredo Sauce:

4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup half & half
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/4 tsp nutmeg
fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the half & half and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer and whisk in the cheese a little at a time until it's all melted.  Stir in spinach and nutmeg.  Season with pepper.

Assembly:

Arrange veggies on the bottom of a dutch oven or casserole dish.  Top with Alfredo sauce until veggies are lightly sauced but not swimming.  If you have leftover sauce, mix it into the potatoes.  Top this with the mashed potatoes.  Cook in a 350 degree F oven until heated through and the potatoes are slightly browned on top.