Lentil pie

Hello again everybody! It's time to make more pies!

My English friend actually gave me his lentil pie recipe and I believe I'm safe to say that it's a true winner! It's a shepherd's pie style lentil pie and absolutely gorgeous. It's very wholesome and nutritious for vegetarians. Just remember to start soaking the beans the previous day and you're good to go (alternatively you can leave them out and it's still good).

You will need three pans, one for the potatoes, one for cooking the beans and one for the frying the filling veg (the beans will end up here when they're cooked). You'll also need at least one oven dish because this can make a lot of pie!

Ingredients

For the topping

Potatoes

Butter

Salt

For the filling

Cup of soaked mixed dried beans

Cup of red and green dried lentils

2-3 Large onions

2 Carrots

A handful of dried porcini mushrooms

4 Garlic cloves

A cup of cider

A cup of vegetable stock

Yeast extract

Soy sauce or Miso

Bay leaves

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Lentils and beans should be rinsed before boiling. Start by boiling the beans. They will need a while and it's important to make sure that they are fully cooked. Otherwise they might be harmful to your health. Please check the packing or Wiki for instructions if you're not sure, but these beans needed 15 minutes of vigorous boiling and about an hour of slow boiling. You can add the green lentils to the beans about 15 minutes before they're done. Cook the red lentils with the main mix later.

In the meanwhile chop the onions, carrots and garlic. Also prepare a mix of the vegetable stock and the dried mushrooms so they rehydrate. I usually break the mushrooms into small pieces for this dish.

Cook the onions for at least 15 minutes on a low heat with a little olive oil and salt. Add the carrots and garlic when the onions are starting to brown nicely.

Start boiling the potatoes for the topping until they are tender. I normally leave the peels on if I'm using new potatoes, it keeps the vitamins in. Once they are fully cooked mash them and mix with some salt and butter. Add some liquid like vegetable stock or just water to make the mash very smooth.

After frying the carrots and garlic with the onions for a few more minutes add the cider and let this reduce. Then add the stock, red lentils, cooked beans and green lentils, bay leaves and pepper. Add one or more of the yeast extract, miso or soy sauce; the aim is to add a savoury umami taste, so add these while tasting to get it right. I used a little of all three. Cook until the lentils are soft and tender, or even falling apart and the sauce is fairly thick.

Spoon the lentil and bean mix to about 2/3 depth in an oven dish. Cover with about 0,5-1cm of potato mash, if it doesn't spread well add a little more water or butter. Use a fork to decorate the top of the mash. Finally bake at 175C for about 30-40 minutes until the surface is lightly browned.

Serve hot with some nice fresh green veg.

This is a nice pie but the pie quest will continue tomorrow with other pie ideas!

Your VegHog