Vegan lentil shepherd's pie

Breakfast: Vegan blueberry muffins

Lunch: White rice salad with almond meal and veggies

Dinner: Vegan lentil shepherd's pie with kale salad

I used to love shepherd's pie when I was a little Yorkshire kid, and when I gave up meat I was always a little sad that I couldn't have it. That was until I went to Tea Tree for the first time and had their wonderful lentil shepherd's pie. Given that this is the perfect food for a Toronto winter time but unfortunately I can't afford to go eat there every day, I created my own version while living at the Ukrainian house.

A combination of beans and lentils is always good for you, and using vegan margarine instead of butter for the mashed potato topping gives a lovely creamy texture. Win!

You'll need:
(Feeds 6)

1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 can diced/crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 large onions, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 small can sweetcorn
2 cloves garlic, crushed
700g potatoes
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp paprika
soy milk
vegan margarine
black pepper
salt
oil

Method:

Soak the lentils in water for 1 hr, then drain
Place in a pan with water, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes
Peel and chop the potatoes, boil in a pan with water then simmer for 20 minutes
Saute the onion and garlic in a little oil til they're browning
Add in the carrots, the cooked lentils and the tomatoes
Stir well
Add in the paprika and oregano
Add the kidney beans and sweetcorn and cook for 5 minutes
Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes
Turn down the heat
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
When the potatoes are soft, drain then place in a bowl
Mash the potatoes, adding in little bits of soy milk and vegan margarine - just enough to make them creamy
Season the potatoes with salt
Take the lentil mix off the heat and pour into a casserole dish
Spread the mashed potatoes on top and even them out
Cook for 20-30 minutes, til the top of the potatoes is turning hard
Serve with a salad

In case you ever wondered, shepherd's pie and cottage pie are pretty much the same thing these days, although the story goes that one used to mean a beef pie and one used to mean lamb pie. Is this true? Who knows; I do the cooking, not the thinking.

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