Shepherds Pie with Swiss Stake

I’ve been told that the words “vegetarian” and “meat free” can be unappealing to some people. That they’ll be more likely to try a veggie meat if you don’t call it vegetarian even if they know it’s not real meat. Maybe that’s why a lot of veggie meat companies choose to misspell meat names as opposed preceding them with the “V” word. I’m fairly certain that Worthington and Loma Linda (pioneers in the mass production of veggie meat and now merged as one company) were the forerunners of this trend. Swiss Stake is a prime example.

I grew up eating Swiss Stake on weeknights when Mom only had time to cook some carrots and maybe throw a salad together, but according to Soyinfocenter.com (yup, someone cared enough) Swiss Stakes were introduced by Loma Linda Foods way back in 1978. It actually was sold in both a canned and frozen version, but the frozen stuff must have been a dud.

For a long time, I thought that these “stakes” were a complete invention. I had never seen a swiss steak on a menu or heard of a meat-eating friend consuming it. Swiss stake is definitely not a popular beef dish, but it has probably seen it’s day in more resourceful times. The “swiss” in swiss steak actually has nothing to do with Switzerland (even though my spell check doesn’t realize this). It actually refers to the process of swissing, which is a method of tenderizing tough or cheap pieces of meat. Who knows, maybe your grandma swissed a steak or two in her day.

I have no idea what the real thing tastes like, but the meatless version is pretty palatable. It’s super tender, salty and savory and comes packed in an ugly yet delicious gravy.

The nutrition breakdown is surprising in some areas and typical in others. Like many veggie meats, Swiss Stakes are high in sodium. For a one serving patty (most dudes will eat at least two), you get a substantial 430 mg of sodium. You’ll also get a gram of saturated fat, but that’s not so bad when you see the other 5 grams of fat are composed of healthier mono and polyunsaturated fats. On the other hand, these stakes are pretty low in carbohydrates (9 grams, if you care about that sort of thing) and high in protein (9 grams as well). Worthington Loma Linda was also nice enough to throw in a good portion of a few of your daily vitamins (90% of your B12 among others). Although the ingredient list for the gravy is a little scary, the main ingredients for the patties are actually pretty simple: textured soy protein, rolled oats, corn oil, etc.

A Swiss Stake is not the healthiest of veggie meats, but it definitely won’t break the bank if you don’t go nuts and eat all four patties in the can. One way to use it moderately is to throw it into a recipe that calls for steak pieces, like the shepherds pie I made the other day. It was my first time cooking with this classic veggie meat, and I have to say, it worked really well.


Shepherds Pie
Serves 6

6 medium red potatoes, washed with eyes removed, cubed
2 Tbls light olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 shallots or one medium onion, finely chopped
3-4 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cans of Worthington Loma Linda Swiss Stake with Gravy, cubed
2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and place on high heat to boil.

While potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a pan. Sauté garlic with shallots for 2-3 minutes in oil.

Add carrots, celery, dill and Swiss Stake. Be sure to scrape gravy from cans into pan. Cover and cook until carrots begin to get tender. If needed, add a bit of water or vegetable broth to speed the process along.
When potatoes are tender, mash and prepare to your liking. For vegan mashed potatoes try some plain soymilk, olive oil, salt and garlic. For regular mashed potatoes add butter, milk, sour cream, salt and garlic.

When vegetable-meat mixture is done, spread in a casserole dish and cover with mashed potatoes. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until edges turn golden.

Tips: I know I’ve been vague with the mashed potatoes, but it really just depends on how you like them. I never use a recipe when I make them, I just keep adding and tasting. When I made this, I did the potatoes dairy free by using some cashew cream (courtesy of our healthy cook Paulette), some Smart Balance and some Veganaise along with some salt and garlic. They were really good! Add whatever you want to the potatoes; just make sure they’re smooth enough to spread over the mixture. When you cook the pie, put a cookie sheet on the rack below since the juices from the vegetables may bubble over. Also, this is basically a dump recipe. The veggies I used were the ones in my fridge. You can try all sorts of combinations.