Shepherd’s pie is just the ultimate comfort food isn’t it? Whatever the season it just makes you feel all warm and lovely, like a big hug on a plate. My mum used to make it quite a lot when my brother and I were little so it also evokes happy childhood memories, as I’m sure it does for lots of you guys too.

It’s a funny name though isn’t it? Typically it’s made with lamb, hence the ‘shepherd’s’ bit, but surely shepherds are meant to LOOK AFTER sheep, not eat them!? Though they might be sufficiently well fed, I can’t imagine that the shepherds who make shepherd’s pie all the time are among the most successful in their field (pun totally intended).

So perhaps as this shepherds pie is made with lentils instead of lamb I should give it a different name, but I’m not sure what…farmer’s pie? botanist’s pie? agriculturalist’s pie? horticulturalist’s pie? Answers on a postcard please! Whatever we end up calling it, it’s thoroughly delicious and only requires nine ingredients. Also as it’s meat free and uses sweet potatoes instead of regular ones it’s a lot less heavy but still just as comforting!

Ingredients

For the filling

• 1 1/2 cups lentils
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup sweetcorn
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the topping

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil

First preheat the oven to 200C. Peel the sweet potatoes, chop into medium sized chunks and place them in a saucepan filled with water. Bring to the boil and then cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until they’re all soft and lovely. Drain them well making sure you get rid of any excess water then pop them in a mixing bowl, add in the olive oil and any salt or pepper to taste and mash until completely smooth. Place a tea towel over the bowl to cover them and leave them to one side while you make the filling.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and saute the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until they are golden, then add in the lentils, veggie stock and any salt or pepper and simmer on a low heat for another 10 minutes. Add in the carrots, sweetcorn and peas and cook for a further five minutes.

Spoon the mixture into a baking disk and top with the mashed sweet potatoes. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes until the sweet potato starts to go slightly crispy on top.

Love, Mrs H xx