Veggie Shepherd’s Pie

I absolutely love, love, love this recipe. I put huge amounts of potato on the pie when I have everyone home (which is now!). It is incredibly economical to make and really you can add any bits and bobs of veg hanging around in the forgotten corner of the fridge. The only thing I will say is that it is important to dice all the vegetables to roughly the same size so they cook at the same time. The same goes for the potatoes. A common mistake in making mash is not checking for seasoning after the potato has been mashed, so please remember – it makes such a difference.

Ingredients

2 sticks of celery, diced 2 cm cubes.

500g other vegetables – preferably include carrots, parsnips, swede, celeriac – diced 2 cm cubes

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1tsp chopped rosemary

Salt and pepper

1 onion, finely diced.

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

1 tsp olive oil

125g dried red lentils, washed

1 can of plum tomatoes

1 tbsp of tomato puree

350ml veggie stock

Topping

900g -1kg 200 potatoes, peeled, evenly sliced

30g butter

3 tbsp milk, heated

Salt and pepper

125g (4oz) Cheddar cheese.

I used a 2 litre dish

Method

Preheat oven 200C/180Fan

1. Leaving the onion and garlic to one side.
2. Put all remaining prepared vegetables in a large roasting tin and sprinkle over rosemary and oil.
3. Mix together well and put into pre-heated oven and roast for 20 min. Keep checking and turn the veggies to avoid them burning.
4. Heat oil in a pan and cook onion for 5 mins and then add garlic, continue to cook until brown.
5. Add lentils, tomato puree, can of tomatoes and stock, cover and simmer for 20 mins. Keep checking to ensure the lentils do not catch on the bottom and burn. Add additional water if the mixture gets too thick. You do not want a sloppy mixture but it should be fluid.
6. When the lentils are cooked remove from heat and add the roasted vegetables.
7. Add potatoes to pan of salted cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 mins.
8. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and mash with butter and milk. Check for seasoning.
9. Put lentil/veg mixture into dish, top with potatoes and fork with a top.
11. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
12. Bake for 30-35min, t
13. he top should be lovely and golden.