Food

Lentil And Vegetable Cottage Pie


By Laura at adaisychaindream.com

I've promised myself I’m going to start cooking proper meals for myself at least once a week. This was my first adventure into proper cooking and I'm pretty pleased with the result. This lentil and vegetable cottage pie is easy to make, really tasty and perfect comfort food.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 900g mashed potato
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 chopped medium onion
  • 150g brown (or puy) lentils (I used green tinned)
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 100g grated vegetarian cheddar cheese
  • 2 diced carrots
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 diced medium pepper
  • 120g sliced mushrooms
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Method

If you're using dried lentils, cook them in plenty of water until just soft, drain them, and save the cooking liquid. If you're using tinned lentils, drain them and save the liquid.

While the lentils are cooking, sauté the onion, garlic, basil and cayenne pepper in oil until soft, but not brown.

Add the carrot, pepper and mushrooms. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes or until the carrot has softened. Add the cooked lentils, tomato puree and seasoning. If the mixture is very thick, add a little of the reserved liquid from the lentils.

Cook the mixture for a further 5 minutes and then transfer it to an oven-proof dish. Cover it with mashed potato and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake it for 30 minutes in a moderate oven, until the top is golden-brown.

This Veg lovers cottage pie can be masterfully created on a Leisure range cooker. Interested in a specific fuel type? See our selection of electric range cookers, gas range cookers or combine both with our dual fuel range cookers.