Jamie Oliver Lentil Shepherds Pie Food

GOLDEN VEGGIE SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• To make the sauce, heat 50g butter in a pan, then gently fry 2 chopped onions, 4 diced carrots, 1 chopped head of celery and 4 finely chopped garlic cloves for 15 mins until soft and golden.
• Turn up the heat, add 200g sliced chestnut mushrooms, then cook for 4 mins more.
• Stir in 2 bay leaves and 1 tbsp dried thyme, then add 500g green lentils. Pour over 100ml red wine and 1.7l vegetable stock - it's important that you do not season with salt at this stage.
• Simmer for 40-50 mins until the lentils are very soft.
• Season to taste, take off heat, then stir in 3 tbsp tomato purée.
• While the lentils are cooking, tip 2kg floury potatoes into a pan of water, then boil for about 15 mins until tender. Drain well, mash with 85g butter and 100ml milk, then season with salt and pepper.
• To assemble the pies, divide the lentil mixture between all the dishes that you are using, then top with mash.
• Scatter over 50g grated cheddar and freeze for up to two months or if eating that day, heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5, then bake for 30 mins until the topping is golden.

VEGAN SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Peel and chop all the potatoes into rough 2cm chunks. Place the Maris Pipers 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, adding the sweet potatoes after 5 minutes.
• 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.
• Peel and finely slice the onion, carrots and 2 garlic cloves, then trim and finely slice the celery.
• Bash the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar until fine, then add it all to a medium pan over a medium heat with a good splash of oil. Pick in the thyme leaves, then cook for around 10 minutes, or until softened.
• Meanwhile, roughly chop the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, then add to the pan along with the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the sun-dried tomato oil from the jar.
• Cook for a further 10 minutes, then add a splash of wine, turn up the heat, and allow it to bubble away. Stir in the stock, lentils and chickpeas (juice and all), then leave it to tick away for 5 to 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced.
• Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves, 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.
• Finely slice the remaining garlic clove, then place into a bowl with the rosemary leaves, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and 1 tablespoon of oil. Mix well, sprinkle over the mash, then place in the hot oven for around 10 minutes, or until piping hot through.
• Place under the grill for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, then serve with seasonal greens.

SUPER SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Put the mince into a cold casserole pan. Place on a high heat, add a really good pinch of black pepper and cook for 15 minutes, or until dark golden, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
• Pick and finely chop the rosemary leaves, drain the beans, then stir both into the pan. Cook and stir for 8 minutes, or until the beans start to pop and it's all getting dark and gnarly.
• Peel the onions and carrots, trim the celery, wipe the mushrooms clean, then finely chop it all (or blitz in a food processor). Stir into the pan and sweat for 10 minutes on medium-high, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the flour, followed by the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat with the lid on for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Wash the swede and potatoes (leaving the skins on for extra nutritional benefit) and cut into 3cm chunks.
• Cook just the swede in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, add the potatoes for 10 more minutes, or until cooked through, drain well, mash with the milk and grated cheese, and season to perfection.
• Check the consistency of the mince - you want it slightly wetter than you think, as it will thicken further in the oven. Add the Worcestershire and mint sauces, taste, and season to perfection.
• Sprinkle the peas over the mince, letting them sit on the surface to help prevent the mash from sinking in too much. Put spoons of mash randomly on top, using a fork to scuff it up and make valleys and mountains, increasing the surface area, and the crispy bits.
• Bake for 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Nice with seasonal greens.

MICHELA'S VEG & LENTIL COTTAGE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Trim, wash and finely slice the leek. Peel and dice the carrot, onion and celery.
• Heat a splash of oil in a medium pan on a medium heat, add the leek, carrot, onion and celery. Pop the lid on and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the lentils, stock and peas, then bring to the boil, stirring regularly. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through.
• For baby, remove a small amount to a blender (use a hand-held stick blender, if you prefer), or a bowl, then either blend to a purée, pulse, mash and/or finely chop depending on the stage your little one is at (for more information on stages of complementary feeding, click here).
• For adults, season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then add the tomato purée. Scrub the sweet potato clean, then coarsely grate it into a bowl, toss with a little oil and a good few gratings of Parmesan.
• Transfer the filling to a 15cm x 20cm ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the sweet potato. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potato topping is golden and cooked through and the filling is piping hot.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3.
• In a snug-fitting high-sided roasting tray, rub the lamb all over with a little oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Add a splash of water to the tray, then roast for 4 hours, or until the meat is tender and will fall away from the bone.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray, then lift the lamb out onto a board, take all the meat and crispy skin off the bone and roughly chop it, reserving the bones.
• Skim away any fat from the tray and pop it into a clean jam jar. Add a splash of boiling water to the tray and stir around to pick up all the lovely sticky bits from the bottom. Keep it all to one side.
• For the filling, peel and roughly dice the onions, carrots, celery and swede, then put them into your biggest pan on a medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of reserved lamb fat. Strip in the rosemary leaves, then fry the veg for 20 minutes, or until lightly caramelised, stirring regularly.
• Stir in the flour, lamb, bones and tray juices, then pour in 1.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on and reduce to a gentle simmer for 40 minutes, or until you've got a loose, stew-like consistency, stirring occasionally.
• To guarantee intense gravy and a tender but dense filling, remove and discard the bones, then place a large coarse sieve over a pan and, in batches, spoon the lamb stew into the sieve. Let the gravy drip through, and after a couple of minutes, when you get a dense pile of meat and veg in the sieve, transfer that to a bowl, leaving the gravy in the pan.
• Separately freeze half the cool meat and gravy for another day.
• For the topping, sides and bottom, peel and roughly chop the potatoes and cook in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and leave to steam dry, then add the butter, grate in half the cheese, season to perfection with salt and pepper, mash well and cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Use a little reserved lamb fat to grease the inside of a large pie dish (25cm x 30cm), then pick and tear over the rosemary leaves and sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs - they'll stick to the fat and add an incredible crunch.
• A handful at a time, press the cooled mash into the dish, covering the bottom and sides with a 1cm-thick layer. Spoon in the filling and a couple of spoonfuls of gravy, smooth out, then top with the remaining mash, pat it flat, scuff it up with a fork and pinch it at the edges.
• Grate over the rest of the cheese, scatter with the remaining breadcrumbs and drizzle lightly with oil. Importantly, bake on the bottom of the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
• Warm your gravy through (reducing if desired), then serve the pie with loads of seasonal greens or peas and lots of condiments.