Spice Kitchen - European
Vegetarian Shepherds Pie
A warming vegetarian shepherds pie. Feel free to alter the vegetables for whatever is in season and also adjust the spice blend to suit your taste.
Ingredients
- 1kg potatoes / sweet potatoes (use any mix)
- 40g butter
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 200g mushrooms
- 200g kale or spinach
- 200g frozen peas
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 tablespoons of either Spice Kitchen Garam Masala, Ras El Hanout or Baharat
- olive oil
- ½ a bunch of fresh herbs (thyme / coriander / mint)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 100 ml vegetable stock / 1 stock pot
- 2 tins of lentils / chickpeas (use any mix)
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- salt / pepper / chilli to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
- Peel and chop all the potatoes into rough 2cm chunks. Place them into a large pan of cold salted water over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.
- Drain and leave to steam dry, then return to the pan with the margarine and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mash until smooth, then set aside. Add cheese as an optional extra.
- Peel and finely slice the onion, carrots and 2 garlic cloves. Chop mushrooms.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add in all vegetables.
- Cook for 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes, spinach / kale, stock, lentils, chickpeas (juice and all), then leave it to tick away for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced.
- Pick and roughly chop the herbs then stir into the pan. Season to taste, then transfer to a baking dish (roughly 25cm x 30cm).
- Spread the mash over the top, scuffing it up with the back of a spoon.
- Place under the grill for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, then serve with seasonal greens.