Lentil shepherd's pie

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 30 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 floury potatoes, such as King Edward or Maris Piper, peeled, chopped

small handful frozen peas

knob of butter

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

25ml/1fl oz milk

75g/3oz mature cheddar, broken into chunks

pinch smoked paprika

1 tbsp olive oil

½ red onion, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 small carrots, peeled, chopped into small pieces

1 celery stalk, trimmed, chopped into small pieces

400g/14oz canned plum tomatoes

splash Worcestershire sauce (optional)

few drops Tabasco

pinch smoked paprika

1 fresh bay leaf

85ml/3fl oz red wine

100ml/3½fl oz vegetable stock

1 sprig fresh rosemary

splash balsamic vinegar

small handful fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped

400g/14oz canned Puy lentils

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. For the champ topping, heat a pan of salted water, add the potatoes and bring gently to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. When the potatoes for the champ topping are almost done, add the frozen peas and cook for a few more minutes until the peas are tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, for the lentil mixture, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the chopped onion, garlic, carrots and celery for 5-10 minutes, until softened.

Add the remaining lentil mixture ingredients except for the lentils and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced. Stir the lentils into the tomato sauce.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, then gently fry the spring onions until softened. Add the milk and heat through.

Mash the potatoes and peas roughly. Add the warm milk mixture to the potatoes and continue to mash until combined but still chunky.

Spoon the lentil mixture into a medium pie dish and top with the champ. Scatter over the cheese and smoked paprika.Place the dish onto a baking sheet and bake the pie for 25-30 minutes, or until the potato is golden-brown.

Nutrition

• Calories: 400kcal
• Total Fat: 12.5g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Total Carbohydrate: 47g
• Dietary Fiber: 9g
• Total Sugars: 9.5g
• Protein: 15g