Vegetarian Sheperd's Pie
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, well chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 large carrots (500g/1lb 2oz in total), cut into 1 cm chunks
- 2 tbsp thyme chopped
- 200ml red wine
- 400g chopped tomatoes (or a tin)
- 2 vegetable stock cubes
- 450g green lentils (soaked and cooked, or a tin)
- 1kg sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
- 50g butter
- 100g cheddar, grated
Method
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Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, then fry the onion until golden, chope the garlic well and add it.
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Add the carrot and most of the thyme, reserving a sprinkling for later.
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Pour in the red wine, 150ml water and the chopped tomatoes, then crumble in 2 vegetable stock cubes and simmer for 10 mins. Add salt and pepper and chilli if you like.
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Add the green lentils with the water they were cooked in (or in the tin with), then cover and simmer for another 10 mins, or until the carrots still have a bit of bite and the lentils are no longer separate. Turn off and leave to sit.
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Boil the sweet potatoes for 15 mins, or until soft, drain and then mash with the butter and season to taste.
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Put the lentil mixture into an oven dish, cover with the mash and sprinkle over the cheddar and the remaining thyme. (The pie can now be covered and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for up to a month.)
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Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Cook for 20 mins if cooking straightaway, or for 40 mins from chilled, until golden brown on top and hot all the way through. Serve and enjoy.