Lentil shepherd’s pie
A rich, thyme-scented lentil and vegetable filling under a thick blanket of buttery mashed potatoes, baked until the peaks turn golden, a cozy make-ahead dinner with no meat at all.
- 85 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $1.65 a serving
- 390 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup lentils, brown or green, rinsed
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup frozen peas
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 2 tsp salt, divided
Each serving has about 390 calories, 14 g protein, 60 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.65 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, 8 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, thyme and rosemary and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens.
Medium heat
Add the lentils, broth and tamari and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
with the 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are tender and the mixture is thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Low heatTimer: 27 min
Dolly’s tip: It should be thick like chili, not soupy. A wet filling makes the potatoes sink.Meanwhile, put the potatoes in another pot, cover with cold water, add 1 teaspoon salt, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
15 minutes, until a fork slides into the potatoes easily, then them well. the oven to 400°F.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Medium heatTimer: 15 min
Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth.
Stir the peas and ½ teaspoon salt into the lentils and spread them in a 9-inch square or 2-quart baking dish.
Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top, spread them to the edges, and rough up the surface with a fork.
Dolly’s tip: Those fork ridges are what turn golden and crispy.20 to 25 minutes, until the filling bubbles at the edges and the peaks are .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Let it rest 10 minutes before scooping.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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