Wednesday 20th May 2020
The next best thing.
I don't miss meat. A sirloin with peppercorn sauce in a local bistro or a pulled pork bap at a festival in the summer never did appeal to me, even as a meat eater in my younger days. Not ideal when you're raised in a traditional British/Italian household where the main staples consisted of the stuff. Lasagne al forno one day, followed by beef stew and dumplings the next. I was grateful for it at the time, having proper home cooked meals. But one dish I never did warm to was the cottage pie. I can recall vividly the excitement from my father and older sister when Mum broke the news to them that this was what was being served that evening, much to my horror. Bland, overcooked minced beef (sorry Mum) topped with my idea of food hell, mashed potato. I liked the idea of this old English supper, but after numerous attempts I gave up the fight and Mum accepted that it just wasn't for me. Fast Forward 15 years and I felt as though I should revisit it, but put a vegan twist on the dish.
Lentils are wonderful things. They bring a meatiness to the most frugal of meals, and they're also incredibly good for us what with being rich in iron and folate, and packed full of protein. There is some prep involved here by way of the vegetables but I've juxtaposed this time consuming task by using sliced sweet potatoes for the topping, instead of the traditional mashed potato which takes peeling, par boiling and then mashing. Packed full of colourful veg and deliciously savoury, this ones definitely a keeper.
Please Note* I've listed dried herbs in the ingredient list as they're easier to get hold of in the current climate but if you have fresh to hand, you can of course use them.
Ingredients (Enough for 4):
- 2 medium red onions
- 2 large carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 large leek
- 1 large courgette
- 250g chestnut mushrooms
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 2 X 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 4 tbsp tomato purée
- 150ml vegan red wine
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 200g puy lentils
- 4 large sweet potatoes
Method
Begin by prepping the veg for the pie filling. Peel and dice your onions, then top and tail your carrots and dice them too (no need to peel, the goodness is in the skin!). Quarter the courgette and leek and chop into bite size chunks. finally peel the garlic and finely slice.
Place a large pan on the hob overt a medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil. Add the thyme, rosemary and bay and let it sizzle for a minute to allow them give up some of their flavour. Add your prepared veg and fry for about 10 minutes until softened.
When the veg have had their 10 minutes, slice the mushrooms and add to the pan before cooking for a further couple of minutes until softened. (the key to cooking mushrooms is to keep the heat relatively high so they caramelise and become nutty. If the heat is too low they'll just soften and release all of their water.)
Next, add your chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine and caster sugar, and then fill the tomato tins up 3/4 of the way each with cold water and add that to the pan. Finally, add your lentils and give everything a good stir before leaving to simmer for 25 minutes covered, removing the lid for the last 10 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C/180 for fan ovens. Season the pie filling with lots of salt and black pepper and decant into a deep baking dish. Wash and slice the sweet potatoes so you get discs about 1 cm thick. Arrange on top of the lentils, ensuring all the filling is covered. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and scatter a few thyme leaves on top, then bake for 25 minutes, checking it after 20.
Serve alongside a fresh, green salad. Any leftovers freeze well.
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