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sheperds pie
When I left Boston just after the record-making arctic winter this year to come home to a Sydney winter I wasn’t overly happy… I do love my sunshine! That said, there have been many afternoons of lovely winter sun here and I have managed to develop a bit of colour, but have also been able to experiment with new warm winter meals in the cooler evenings for my flatmate. Here’s one of my favourites: vegan shepherds pie from the girl who refused to eat the meat-based stuff as a girl!
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes, scrubbed and diced (I buy organic potatoes so I don’t have to peel them… a lot of goodness is just under the skin!)
- Vegan stock cube
- Dollop of vegan butter (Nuttelex or Earth Balance, or similar depending on where you live!)
- Splash of almond / soy milk
- Olive oil
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 400g button (or baby bella) mushrooms, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 tbls rosemary (fresh or dried), finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- Splash red wine (optional)
- 400g diced tomatoes (diced fresh or from a jar)
- 1-2 tbsp chili flakes or cayenne pepper
- Sea salt (or Herbamare) and pepper to taste
- 400g lentils (cooked fresh or canned in water)
- Smoked paprika
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180C
- Bring 2-3 liters of water to the boil in a large pot with vegan stock cube
- Add diced potatoes to boiling water; cook until al dente
- Meanwhile, heat splash of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat
- Add onion and cook for approx. 5 minutes until soft and browned, stirring occasionally
- Add the celery, carrot, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary and ground coriander and cook until soft
- In a smaller pan, heat a splash of wine and let the alcohol evaporate before adding the tomatoes and chili, salt and pepper to taste; add tomato mix to the vegetables in the large pan
- Drain lentils and add to the large pan, stir in and simmer until the mix thickens
- Spread into 9x9in ceramic baking dish
- The potatoes should be cooked by this time so strain all the water away and tip back into the pot
- Mash lightly with a few dollops of vegan butter (I like mine a little chunky when I leave the skin on but it’s up to you how smooth you go) and use a wooden spoon to stir in a splash of almond milk to make the texture a little creamier – add salt to taste
- Smooth potato mix over the lentil mix and sprinkle paprika lightly over the top
- Cook in oven for 10-1 5minutes or until the potato goes crispy
- Serve with salad or steamed greens… or eat it straight out of the dish with a large spoon!
The vegetable and lentil mix also freezes well so consider making double the amount. Then, on a cold rainy evening simply defrost the mix, mash some potatoes and throw it in the oven for quick, easy comfort food.
xx
Guide: vegan | whole food, plant based | gluten-free | nut-free | sweetener-free | soy-free
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