Tomato and lentil shepherd’s pie.
More and more people are turning to vegan food in January either for health, or income reasons, I certainly enjoy a time where I can be more creative with vegetables, I like the lightness of vegan food, however when it's cold which this weekend promises to be there's always the feeling that we need something more comforting and filling.
One of my favourite dishes for this time of the year, is a tomato and lentil shepherd’s pie, when I lived in Manchester one of my friends who at that time had ten children living at home used to make this on a regular basis, mainly for economic reasons but also because her family adored it. It is a recipe you can tweak to your own families preferences of heat or herbs and spices.
The lentils add texture, which is enjoyed by people of all ages, it's quite simple to prepare and it's a one pot satisfying meal.
Ingredients to serve 6-8.
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large yellow onions, diced.
8 cloves garlic minced.
three carrots peeled and chopped.
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves roughly chopped.
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves roughly chopped.
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups (10 ounces / 285g) green lentils (or brown lentils) soaked overnight in cold
water.
3/4 cups (900 mL) vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet or hot paprika or chilli flakes
one teaspoon good quality sea salt
one teaspoon black pepper
one tin of chopped tomatoes
One punnet of your favourite mushrooms,
1K of potatoes peeled and put into cold water cut into quarters.
4 tablespoons vegan butter, softened at room temperature.½ cup plant milk
freshly ground black pepper to taste
half a cup of grated vegan cheese, you can use real cheese, but I prefer to use vegan
cheese.
Method
Place the green lentils in cold water to soak overnight, cover them in a pan with cold water bring to the boil taking off any scum then simmer them for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pot to boil with a pinch of salt till they're soft enough to mash this usually takes 20 minutes.
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil and so take the onions along with the garlic till they all translucent, add the carrots Rosemary thyme, and Bay leaves. Drain the lentils an add them to the onion mixture, add the vegetable broth, the can of tomatoes and the tomato puree mixing it well, check the seasoning, and add the paprika or chilli flakes to give it a bit of a kick then cook for a further 15 minutes to reduce before adding the sliced mushrooms. Let this mixture cool slightly before adding it to an oven proof dish that will be large enough to add mashed potatoes on top.
For the mash.
Drain the potatoes, match them with a potato masher never be tempted to use a food processor because then the protectors go gloopy, add the vegan butter salt and pepper and plant milk to taste.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
Cover the lentil mixture with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle the vegan cheese equally all over the top. place the pie into the centre of the oven to cook for 20 minutes, till the rentals are bubbly and the cheese has melted on the top of the shepherd’s pie is golden brown.
This shepherd’s pie can be eaten on its own, as a filling meal or served with your favourite vegetable.
This is a lovely midweek meal and if you do want a glass of wine with it a good red wine goes beautifully with it.