Comfort food in February’s kitchen
We’ve been having some grey, cold, wet days so far this month and I for one am ready for a little bit of sunshine! It’s too wet in the garden to do anything much so I’m doing some indoor clearing jobs – the freezer being one of them! There’s all sorts of bits and bobs in there including some carrots and beans which I’m using for this comforting filling shepherd’s pie. Along with the last of the stored onions and some potatoes it will keep you warm on the coldest of winter days
Veggie Shepherd’s Pie with Cheesy Mustard Mash
Serves 4 Takes about an hour
Good glug oil and knob of butter
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g carrot peeled and chopped into large bite size pieces or use frozen
Good handful thyme stalks, chopped
150ml red wine
150ml water
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes
410g can green lentils, in water
1kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
50g butter
100g cheddar cheese, grated plus a little extra
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
S&P
- Cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 25 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to dry a little.
- Return to the pan, add the butter and mustard then mash until smooth. Add the cheese and some S&P and stir in. Put to one side whilst you cook the filling.
- Heat the oil and butter in a large, deep frying pan and fry the onions until softened and just golden. Add the garlic, the thyme and the carrots chunks and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the wine, the water and the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer then crumble in the stock cubes and stir to dissolve. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add in the lentils, along with their juices and a good grinding of salt and pepper (depending on how seasoned your stock is). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes until the carrots are tender and the lentils are soft.
- If the sauce is too runny add a teaspoon of corn flour mixed with a little water. Add to the sauce and stir until thickened.
- Spoon the carrot and lentil mixture into 4 individual pie dishes (or one large one) then add the topping. Spread evenly over the top then fork over lightly. Scatter with a little extra grated cheese.
- Put the dishes on a baking tray and pop in a preheated oven 190C/fan170/gas5 for about 20 minutes until the top is golden and the bottom bubbling out through the potato. If cooking one large pie then add a further 10-15 minutes cooking time
- This dish freezes well – do so before cooking then thaw and leave to reach room temperature before cooking.
