Lentil Shepherds Pie

The season of Lent is right around the corner, so for a Catholic, like me, it means digging out those meatless recipes, because we’re not eating meat on Fridays for the next 6 weeks.  And even if you aren’t Catholic, meatless meals can be a great, budget-friendly way to get protein into your diet.

I’m always trying to think creatively about my meatless meals, so I got to wondering if I could replace the ground beef in my shepherd’s pie with lentils instead.

The key here is to season the lentils generously and to take care not to overcook the lentils, because texture is everything if we’re trying to mimic ground beef and mushy simply will not do.

I also decided to pull out all the stops for the potato topping.  I dug out my cake decorating supplies to create lovely potato rosettes in the topping as a way to really try to sell this recipe to teenaged boys.

I mean, obviously they won’t be fooled - lentils are clearly not beef and they know it’s a Friday in Lent - nevertheless, sometimes a lentil forward dish is more palatable when it looks pretty.

Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed this meatless shepherd’s pie and the kids…tolerated it, so that’s close enough to a win in my book!

Sunday Funday

Dried Beans

• Black-eyed Peas with Bacon from Food Lust People Love
• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans from Making Miracles
• Instant Pot 13 Bean Soup with Ham from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Indian Style Bean Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Meatless Shepherd's Pie from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Protein Rich Devil's Food Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Punjabi Style Chitra Rajma Masala With Homemade Rajma Masala from Sneha’s Recipe
• Rajma Pulav Kidney Beans Pulav from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Slow Cooker Chicken and White Bean Soup from Our Good Life
• Vegan Butter Bean Beetroot Salad from Cook with Renu

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Potato Topping

2 ½ pound potatoes

¼ cup butter

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

Lentil Filling

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled & diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups dry brown lentils

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried thyme

Salt & pepper

3 tablespoon dry red wine

1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 3 minutes.  

Stir in the garlic, lentils, peas, corn, tomato paste, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the wine, worchestershire, and broth.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and continue simmering for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and place the softened potatoes in a bowl with the butter, sour cream, milk, garlic powder, and salt.  Mash until mostly smooth.

Set aside to cool slightly, then, if desired, load the potatoes into a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I used an Ateco 828).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Once the lentils are cooked, spoon the mixture into a deep 9-inch pie plate.  Pipe the potatoes over the lentils.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and potatoes are browning.  To brown further, place under the broiler briefly.