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Photo: [puamelia] / Flickr

This potato and lentil shepherd’s pie dish can be enjoyed by meat eaters as well as vegetarians, and the lentils can be substituted with kidney beans, if your prefer. Being a hearty dish, it is well suited to cold weather. Serve it with caramelised onions and whatever vegetables are in season for a well-rounded meal.

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients for eight generous servings of potato and lentil shepherd’s pie: 500 grams of brown lentils (soak), 1 kg of potatoes (cut into cubes), 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce, 1 large onion (chopped), 2 garlic cloves (finely cut or minced), 1 tablespoon of ginger (grated), 3 medium sized carrots (chopped), 1 large ripe tomato (chopped), 1 pepper (chopped), 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of cream (or milk).

As for the herbs you will require 1 teaspoon each of thyme, marjoram, as well as 1/4 cup of parsley (chopped).

Prepare the lentils and potatoes

Once the lentils have soaked, they can be boiled for ten minutes in a covered pot. Reduce the temperature and allow them to simmer until they are soft, adding more water if necessary. Drain the cooked lentils.

Cook the potatoes in some lightly salted water until they are cooked through. Drain them and then mash them together with the butter, cream and chopped parsley. The mash should be smooth (otherwise pass the potato through a sieve). Season to taste.

Prepare the other vegetables

Cook the onion in some oil for four minutes before adding the garlic. Stir in the ginger, pepper, tomato and remaining herbs. Cook for another five minutes until such time as the onion is transparent.

Spoon the lentils into the pan and stir. Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes and add a little water if necessary. Season to taste and then stir in the worcestershire sauce.

Bake

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Spoon the lentil mix into an ovenproof dish and then spread it evenly across the bottom. Place spoonfuls of mashed potato onto the lentil mix and then use a fork to spread it evenly over the base mixture. Use a fork to decorate the potato and then pop the dish into the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes to half an hour until the potato is golden brown in colour. Serve with steamed vegetables and caramelised onions in cold weather or a fresh colourful salad in warmer weather.

Note: Check that the worcestershire sauce you’re using does not contain fish extracts if you’re serving vegetarians. Otherwise purchase vegetarian worcestershire sauce to be sure.

Tags: baking, cooking, recipes