Grown & Gathered: Vegetable & Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
This super hearty lentil shepherd’s pie is perfect for using the end-of-the-week vegetables, and if youʼre feeling lazy, you can omit the pastry – just top with the mash, bake and enjoy.
Vegetable & Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 6 – 8
Time: 3 – 3 ½ hours
Ingredients
ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 celery stalks and tops, finely chopped
2 dried chillies, finely chopped
2 fresh savoury sprigs (see note)
15–20 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
3–4 oregano sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
½ bunch of parsley (about 60g), stalks and leaves separated, each finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon celery seeds
320g (1 ½ cups) puy lentils, soaked overnight in water and salt and drained
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp tamari
2 carrots, very finely diced
1 small sweet potato, very finely diced
4 small potatoes, very finely diced
2 parsnips, very finely diced
1 small turnip, very finely diced
unrefined salt
savoury shortcrust pastry
Chilled Mash
1 small sweet potato, cut into chunks
4 small potatoes, cut into chunks
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 small turnip, cut into chunks
unrefined salt
a big splash of extra-virgin olive oil
a big splash of milk
ground black pepper
Throw a big pinch of pepper and a splash of oil into a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery, chilli, savoury, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley stalks, bay leaves and celery seeds and sauté until fragrant and the onion is just browned. Add the lentils, garlic, tamari and bone and sauté for a few minutes. Add the carrot, sweet potato, potato, parsnip and turnip and sauté until just starting to brown. Add 1 litre (4 cups) of water or vegetable stock, bring to the boil and then simmer, covered, for 2 hours or until everything is cooked down.
After 2 hours, remove the lid and cook for about 30 minutes until thick. Add the chopped parsley leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare the mash, place the sweet potato, potato, carrot and turnip in a small saucepan, sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and barely cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. Drain and mash well with the oil and milk, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease your chosen pie tins – a couple of larger ones or a few smaller ones, whatever you prefer.
On a floured bench, roll the chilled pastry into balls, and then roll out into thin discs. Flip into the greased pie tins and pre-bake for 5–10 minutes until just brown – you can use pastry weights (we just use dried beans), though it’s not crucial.
Fill the pie dishes with the lentil mixture and then cover with mash. Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry and mash begin to brown a little.
Note
Savoury is a woody herb that is great in meat and bean dishes with deep flavours.
Recipe extracted from Grown & Gathered by Matt & Lentil Purbrick. Available now, Plum, $45.
