Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

shepherd's pie

 

I want to be good. I want to exer­cise more. Drink less wine. Eat less meat. That’s why I came up with this healthy low fat-ish veg­e­tar­ian shepherd’s pie. This recipe com­bines one of my favourite lentil dishes with low fat mashed pota­toes for a tasty treat. I made it last night for a poker party at my friend Georgia’s. I lost ten bucks, but at least this dish was a winner.

 

Veg­e­tar­ian Shepherd’s Pie

 

(The lentil stew is adapted from a recipe I found in Jane Brody’s “Good Food Gourmet,” a ter­rific cook­book filled with yummy and inspir­ing low fat recipes.)

 

Ingre­di­ents

 

For the Lentil Stew

2 cups brown lentils
2 tea­spoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup plain tomato sauce (like Hunt’s, sim­ple not spiced)
4 green onions, chopped with white and green parts
1 large yel­low pep­per (or green or red) chopped
1 stalk cel­ery chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 table­spoons chilli powder
1 table­spoon cumin
1 table­spoon plus 1 tea­spoon molasses
1 table­spoon red wine or cider vinegar

2 cups brown lentils

2 tea­spoons olive oil

1 1/4 cup plain tomato sauce (like Hunt’s, sim­ple not spiced)

4 green onions, chopped with white and green parts

1 large yel­low pep­per (or green or red) chopped

1 stalk cel­ery chopped

4 cloves garlic

2 table­spoons chilli powder

1 table­spoon cumin

1 table­spoon plus 1 tea­spoon molasses

1 table­spoon red wine or cider vinegar

 

For the mashed potatoes

8–10 medium gold pota­toes
4 big table­spoons plain yogurt (I used Lib­erty, 2.5 per­cent, which was incred­i­bly tasty, no fat­ten­ing but­ter or sour cream required!)
2–3 table­spoons chopped fresh pars­ley
1/2 cup grated ched­dar cheese (just for a lit­tle colour and extra flavour on top)

 

Direc­tions

 

Bring the lentils to a boil in six cups of water. Sim­mer on medium low, cov­ered, for about 25 min­utes. (Don’t over­cook lentils.)

 

In 2 tea­spoons of olive oil, sautee onions, pep­pers and cel­ery with the spices until ten­der, about four to five min­utes. Add gar­lic. Saute a minute. Add tomato sauce, molasses and vine­gar. Stir. Add cooked lentils. Stir to com­bine. (If lentils seems to dry or for a “saucier” sauce, add water or a bit more tomato sauce– 1/2 cup more.)

 

For mashed pota­toes, rinse and peel the pota­toes. (I used ten small-ish ones.) Bring them to a boil in a large pot of water and cook until tender/soft (about a half an hour.) Mash with three table­spoon plain yogurt (I used 2.5 per­cent milk fat for a richer taste, but you can go lower.) Salt and pep­per to taste.

 

In rec­tan­gu­lar bak­ing dish, layer the beans on the bot­tom evenly. Spoon mashed pota­toes on top evenly. Tex­ture and fluff with a fork. Bake for 20 min­utes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and add grated cheese and pars­ley. Heat for another five min­utes until cheese melts. Let sit five-ten min­utes and serve. (Left­overs make for a healthy lunch the next day.)