Lentil shepherd’s pie

A warming shepherd’s pie dish so belongs to this season. I made this one following my basic recipe with two types of lentils, onions, carrots and spices to add savoury flavour and all of that covered with a nice potato mash. The pie turned out very good. Now that I’m working a lot from home again, it’s nice to make large dishes that stretch to next day’s lunch just to be warmed up quickly.

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Mushroom and lentil shepherd's pie

The weekend has started rainy. There would be a lovely Christmas market nearby, but maybe it's better to leave it for tomorrow, in case the weather improves. I need to buy a couple of Christmas presents for the children in the family, so I might just be brave and head for the shops. I know it will be crowded, but it probably doesn't get any better towards the holidays.

I haven't made a vegan shepherd's pie for quite a while, but somehow it belongs to this season. I might make one for the Christmas table too, but haven't decided that yet. The only twist here from my usual lentil shepherd's pie was using portobello mushrooms. They added a really nice earthiness to the dish and I can only recommend this combination. The filling really doesn't look too appetising, but I promise you, it was tasty. So here comes my recipe.

Mushroom and lentil shepherd's pie

Ingredients

700 g potatoes

2 large onions

3 garlic cloves

3 portobello mushrooms

2 carrots

½ cup green lentils

½ cup red lentils

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp vegetable stock powder

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp yeast flakes

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Method

Peel and cook the potatoes. Mash them, add some vegan butter and salt and set to side.

Cook the green lentils separately in water until they are done. Towards the end, add also the red lentils to the mix. Drain and set to side.

In the meanwhile, chop the onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms. Start slowcooking the onion in vegetable oil in a pan under lid until it becomes soft and slightly browned. Stir occasionally. Then add the minced garlic and carrots to the pan and cook a while more. Then also add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they are done.

Add the lentils to the mix and season. Place the mushroom and lentil mix in an oven dish and cover it with the potato mash. Make some fork markings on top and bake at 180 for about 1 hour.

When the mash is nicely golden brown and crispy at places, serve the pie with a side salad and enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Your VegHog

Shepherd's pie

Yesterday was just a wonderful weather, and we spent the day mainly outdoors walking in the harbour and in the parks. There was a glorious sunshine at +11C and I swapped to the spring jacket. We also opened the beer garden season, in February, in Scandinavia! Today is cloudy again and slightly colder. Nevertheless we will soon head out for a little Sunday walk, and coffee and pastries.

I made this vegan shepherd's pie with my current favourite plantbased mince made from pea protein. It's a Danish product, so it's nice to support local produce, and it has a really nice texture. It's great in pasta bolognese sauces, this kind of shepherd's pie ragouts and many dishes more. It's also very reasonably priced.

I like to cover my shepherd's pies with a thick mash potato layer. Have a look at the recipe below, which made quite a large oven dish full of comforting pie.

Shepherd's pie

Ingredients

400 g potatoes

3 tbsp margarine

400 g pea protein mince

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

3 carrots

1 can tomato purée

1 glass red wine

Vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Smoked paprika to taste

2 vegetable stock cubes

Method

Peel and cook the potatoes. Make the mash for the topping once they are cooked. Add some salt and margarine and use some of the potato boiling water as the liquid to make a smooth mash.

Chop the onions, garlic and carrots, and start cooking the onions in vegetable oil.

Once the onions are softened, add the carrots to the pan and cook further.

Then add the garlic, and finally the plantbased mince.

Cook for a while, and then add the seasoning, tinned tomatoes and red wine.

Let simmer until the flavours have blended nicely.

Place the mince mix in an oven dish and cover it with the potato mash.

Bake at 200 C for about 20 minutes or until the surface is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Lentil shepherd’s pie

Here is my rustic lentil shepherd’s pie. It’s vegetarian, but also very easy to veganise by just substituting the butter in the mash. I think that this kind of pie could be also nice for the Christmas table.

I used black garlic in this recipe, but also normal garlic would be fine. Also the broadbean crush can be substituted by more lentils or other pulse crushes. Have a look at the recipe below, if I got you interested.

Lentil shepherd’s pie

Ingredients

500 g potatoes

25 g butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup beluga lentils

1/2 cup red lentils

1/2 cup dried broadbean crush

2 carrots

4 onions

4 cloves of black garlic

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

1 tbsp vegetable stock extract

Method

Boil the potatoes until done and mash them with butter, salt and little of the potato cooking water. Set to side.

Chop the onions into half rings and caramelise them in the rapeseed oil until they are very soft and brown.

Chop the black garlic finely and add it to the onions.

Peel and cut the carrot into small pieces, and also add it to the pan.

Add the seasoning and the vegetable stock extract, and some liquid.

Add the lentils and broadbean crush. You can also cook the beluga lentils separately for a while, as they take a bit longer to cook than the other pulses.

Let simmer until everything is cooked nicely.

Place the lentil mix into an oven dish and cover it with the potato mash.

Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pies are just delightful: under a rich, creamy potato lid hides a savoury bean and vegetable mix. I have made a few such pies, as a friend of mine has taught me how to make them, but I think that this could be my favourite one. I made the potato mash a little bit more interesting by adding smoky cheese to it.

I can't believe how cool the weather is at the moment again, so any pie is welcome to me. This recipe makes a proud amount of pie, either one large oven dish or 4-6 smaller ramekins. Follow these instructions to make this pie.

1 kg potatoes

25 g butter

1 tsp salt

50 g smoky cheddar

1 cup dried green lentils

1 cup dried mixed beans

4-5 medium shallots

1 tbsp olive oil

2 carrots

4-5 garlic cloves

300 ml dry cider

200 ml vegetable stock

25 g dried porcini mushrooms

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp miso

½ tsp ground black pepper

Soak the beans overnight, if you're also using dried ones (Tinned ones would be ready to go). Boil them heavily for about 15 minutes and then lightly for about an hour. It's a good idea to read the instructions on the packet, as the boiling length depends on the beans.

Rinse the lentils and boil them also for about 20 minutes. Break the porcini mushrooms slightly and soak them for about ten minutes.

Peel the potatoes and boil them in water until soft and mash them. Add the butter, salt and smoky cheddar to make a smooth mash.

Chop the shallots, garlic and carrots finely (carrots into small cubes) and cook them in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the cooked and drained beans and lentils with the porcini to the pan.

Then add the cider and let it evaporate. Finally add the bay leaves and vegetable stock and let simmer for a further 15 minutes at least.

Season with miso, salt and black pepper to achieve a savoury mix. Remove the bay leaves before baking.

Place the bean mix into a large oven dish or into small ramekins and top with the smoky potato mash. Little butter can be added to the top. Bake at 175C for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and enjoy warm.

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