I made this pie for my dad a few weeks ago and he’s still reminiscing about it. This recipe is deliciously hearty and plant-based. It's a real winner.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 brown onion
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
olive oil
¼ cup white wine (optional)
1 cup of dried lentils (brown, green, or French green lentils are best because they hold their shape)
1 tin of green peas
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 tsp of Italian herbs (fresh or dried thyme, basil, rosemary, and/or oregano)
1 potato
1 sweet potato
¼ cup plant-based milk
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley to serve
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Set it to bake. If you’re in a rush you can set it to grill.
2. If you’re using dried lentils, put them in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring them to boil, and then cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until cooked.
3. Finely dice the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery.
4. Heat a dash of olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery, and stir over medium heat for a few minutes until they are soft.
5. Add the wine and stir for 2 more minutes (optional, to enhance flavours).
6. Add your cooked lentils, peas, tomato paste, stock, and herbs. Cook together over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the mixture reduces to a ‘meaty’ consistency, stirring occasionally. You can add more water or stock if it becomes too thick, or you can add a dash of flour to help it thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
7. In the meantime, peel, chop, and boil the potato and sweet potato until they are soft.
8. Drain the water and use a masher to mash the potato and sweet potato together. Add milk to make the mash creamier. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Pour your shepherd’s pie filling into a baking dish. Cover with a layer of mash. Last week we baked our shepherd’s pie in small ramekins instead.
10. Bake for 20 minutes.
If you’re in a hurry and the pie is already hot, you can grill the pie for 5 minutes to make the top crispy.
Want to eat whole foods?
You could:
Buy 100% extra virgin olive oil, or substitute the oil for water or vegetable stock (you might need to add more as you go to prevent burning)
Buy or make organic tomato paste
Buy or make organic vegetable stock