Shepard's Pie is a hardy meal originating from the United Kingdom. This version contains a variety of vegetables and lentils as the plant-protein source.
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 cup, green or brown
Broth
- 4 cups, low sodium vegetable broth
Onion
- 1 small or ½ large (about ½ cup)
Mushrooms
- 1 cup (about 4 oz), baby bella, button, etc.
Carrot
- 1 large
Celery
- 1 large stalk
Oil
- 2 teaspoons, olive, canola, avocado etc.
Flour
- ½ Tablespoon, all purpose flour, or whatever you have on hand
Wine
- 3 Tablespoons, red wine
Worcestershire
- 2 teaspoons
Tomato_paste
- 3 Tablespoons
Peas
- ½ cup, frozen work well
Bay_leaves
- 2 large
Parsley
- 2 Tablespoons, fresh (optional)
Salt
- ¼ teaspoon
Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon
Cauliflower_potato_mash
- 2 ½ cups (see link below)
Cheese
- ¼ cup, shredded cheese such as Colby Jack or Mexican Blend (optional)
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Pick over and rinse lentils. Add to a sauce pan with 3 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until lentils are tender.
Step 3
While lentils are cooking, chop onion, mushrooms, carrot and celery. Chop parsley and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients and set aside.
Step 4
Add oil to a large frying pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add chopped vegetables and sauté, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender. Stir in flour and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Step 5
Add the red wine, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste to the vegetables and stir. Add the lentil and broth mixture, pease and bay leaves, stir and simmer for about 10 minutes, adding in extra broth as needed to create a sauce.
Step 6
Remove the bay leaves and discard. Stir in salt, pepper and parsley and transfer mixture to a baking dish (9x9 or 9x12 will both work). Spread evenly.
Step 7
Top mixture with cauliflower-potato mash and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. (If not using cheese, bake for a total of 20-25 minutes.)
Notes
Find the cauliflower-potato mash recipe here.
Don't have fresh veggies on hand? Substitute frozen mixed vegetables or canned vegetables instead.
The flour is used to thicken the sauce. It will get thicker as it bakes, so we typically use the whole 4 cups of broth, but you can adjust this based on the consistency you desire!