Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Hearty, filling, and packed full of fresh vegetables and protein rich lentils. This shepherd's pie will be a winner for everyone in the family.

Vegan, gluten & dairy free, and extremely delicious.

Ingredients:

Mash

• 1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

• 1 tblspn vegan butter (eg nuttelex)

• 1 tblspns olive oil

• 2 tblspns reserved water or soy milk (add extra if desired)

• salt

Pie

• 30g of dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, then drained (reserve the liquid)

• 30g vegetable oil

• 2 small onions, peeled and diced

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

• 2 leeks, washed and diced

• 4 carrots, peeled and diced

• 4 sticks of celery, diced

• 2 tspns smoked paprika

• 3 tspns dried thyme

• 1 tspn dried sage

• 200g plant based stock (beef makes it nice & rich)

• 250g dried brown lentils

• 3 bay leaves

• 100g tomato puree

• 3 tblspns soy sauce or balsamic vinegar

• 300g frozen spinach

• 250g frozen peas

• salt & pepper to taste

• bread crumbs (optional)

• tomato sauce, to serve

Method:

Mash: Cover potatoes with water in a large pan and cook until soft. Drain, reserving the liquid.

Mash the potaoes and add rest of mash ingredients to make a smooth consistency. Adjust measurements to your liking.

Pie:

Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced).

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, leek, carrot, celery, and mushroom, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until beginning to soften.

Add the reserved mushroom stock with the remaining ingredients, except the frozen greens, and cook on a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add frozen peas and spinach, and bring to the boil. Stir to combine and cook for another 3 minutes.

Transfer the pie filling into a deep casserole dish, remove bay leaves, and top with the mashed potato. Use a fork to add grooves to the mash and sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is beginning to brown.

Serve with extra green peas and tomato sauce.

Serves 6

Enjoy!

The Enchantress