Shepherdless Pie

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
  • 1 White Onion
  • 3 Medium Carrots
  • 6 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
  • 2 Tins of Green/Brown Lentils or approx 250g of Dried Lentils
  • 3 Tablespoons of Tomato Puree
  • 300ml of Vegetable Stock
  • 1 Large Cauliflower (approx 1 kg)
  • 4 Tablespoons of Almond Milk
  • Sea Salt & Pepper

If you try one meat free dinner let it be this one! It is SO good, it’s so comforting and exactly like the classic version but with a vegan twist. The texture of the filling is amazing and I’ve gone with cauliflower on top to make it a little lighter. I absolutely love this one, I can’t wait to hear what you think!Shepherdless Pie 4

Preheat the oven to 200’C. Pop a large pot of water on to boil.

Add the olive oil to a large pan on medium high heat. Dice the onion and peel and chop the carrots.

Add them to the pan with the fresh thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often until the onion is soft.

Drain the lentils* and add them to the pan with the tomato puree and vegetable stock. Stir well and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrot is tender and the liquid has reduced a little.

While that’s simmering, chop the cauliflower into florets and add them to the pot of boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes until tender.

Drain the cauliflower and add it to a food processor with the almond milk and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until really smooth.

Pour the lentil mixture into your casserole dish. Add the cauliflower mash on top and use a fork to carefully spread it around.

Pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is starting to crisp and the sides are bubbling.

*if you want to use dried lentils, you will need more stock and it will need to simmer for about 40 minutes.

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8 Comments to Shepherdless Pie

  1. Brill, great to see more plant based up on your fabulous resourceful website. Any sign of a new book in the pipelines?

  2. Paula P says:

    Absolutely delicious! Made this recipe today, added in a parsnip as not enough carrots, cooked for the times stated then left it in the low oven in the Aga for a couple of hours while I went out for a walk. Browned top and perfect base. Even the meat eaters loved it!!

  3. Tracy says:

    Hi Indy,
    I made this with dried lentils, ended up adding twice the stated amount of stock to keep it from sticking to the pot and cooked for the recommended 40 mins. I found that the lentils were still hard and the flavour had been diluted too much even though I added extra tomato puree. I definitely want to make again as I know it will be delicious when I get it right but finding it hard to find tinned lentils. Is it possible to soak the dried lentils beforehand to make them soft?

    • Indy Power says:

      Hi Tracy, yes you can soak dried lentils overnight which would make them much softer and easier to digest. You can get tinned lentils in most supermarkets (Dunnes, Tesco, M&S and Centra have them) usually in the health section or just with the other tinned goods. Hope it’s perfect next time!x

  4. Harriet Connolly says:

    Hi Indy, I have dried red lentils in the press, can I use them if I soak?
    Made 2 of your sweet treat recipes tonight, a cacao ball & an almond ball. Struggling if Im honest… TO NOT FINISH THE LOT!!