Vegan Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes enough for a 6.5cup/1625ml/3.4pint dish that serves 4. Please double the recipe for a lasagne tray size
Potato Topping
- 700g/23.7ozs. potatoes
- 90g/3ozs butter substitute plus 20g extra for dotting
- 80ml/2.7flozs. extra virgin olive oil
- 10g/0.3oz. onion powder
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
For the base
- Oil for frying
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 200ml/7ozs. diced tinned tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 130g/4.6ozs. red lentils, rinsed well and drained
- 125g/4ozs. mushrooms, diced
- 1.5 cups/375ml/12.6flozs. vegetable stock
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
- 1 cup/130g/4ozs frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives
Step 1 - First start with the potatoes as they will take a while to cook and mash. Wash them well and place in a large pot of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until a knife will slide in easily. Remove from water and use a potato ricer and mash into a large bowl. Or slice in half and push them through a baking rack with cross hatches (see above).
Step 2 - Add melted butter or substitute, oil and onion powder in 3-4 lots making sure to season the mash well with salt and pepper too. Set aside.
Step 3 - You can make the filling while the potatoes are boiling. Heat a large saucepan with 2-3 tablespoons of oil and add the onion and carrot and sauté until starting to caramelise. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the cumin, paprika, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, soy sauce, lentils, mushrooms, stock, thyme and jalapeno. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes stirring so that the lentils don't catch at the bottom (add a little more stock if necessary). Add the peas and cook for a few minutes. When the lentils are cooked season and make sure that the lentils are not dry and have some sauce to them (although you don't want them wet, you just want a nice gravy).
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Scoop the lentils into a baking dish. Then top with the mashed potatoes. Use a fork to create a hatch pattern and dot with the extra butter substitute. Bake for 30-35 minutes. You can also put this under the grill for 4-5 minutes to crisp it up but I liked the golden hue on top of the potato. Sprinkle with chives.