My friend Anna and I are swapping meals to have one day a week off from cooking and be inspired by each other.

We just started this week, and on Monday, she dropped off her famous, delicious pesto lasagna. All I needed to do was make a green salad from the garden.

Today, I made her a shepherd’s pie. We are trying this new scheme every week, and so far, only week one, it is yet another brilliant and successful idea from my dear friend! I guess it also works so well because we come from the same energetic place of like-mindedness—we cook mindfully, with calmness, goodness, and loving intentions, knowing it will feed the ones we love. We prepare using organic, fresh, wholesome ingredients.

You can use a lot of vegetables in this pie, but I made this one very simple.

VEGETARIAN SHEPHERD’S PIE

Lately, I have been making this with ½ cup red lentils and ½ cup mix of adzuki, white beans, green split peas or any other beans you have on hand.  It is essential to soak overnight with a drop of lemon juice for easier digestion.

preparation time 1 hour

serves 4 – 6

ingredients

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and soaked overnight

2 – 3 Tbsp tomato paste

3 cups water

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2 big tomato, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

salt to taste

freshly ground pepper

fresh rosemary

potato mash

5 medium/750g potatoes

1 medium/250g sweet potato

4 Tbsp ghee

½ cup milk until consistency is achieved

topping

½ cup grated parmesan cheese or pine nut parmesan

2 Tbsp whole-wheat breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

preparation

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

prepare the filling

  1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the lentils, tomato paste, celery, carrots, tomato, bay leaf, curry powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and 3 cups water; simmer until the lentils have absorbed most of the water or have become soft—30 minutes.
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste and spoon into a 26cm x 26cm baking tray.

prepare the potato mash

  1. Boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes in a large pot with salted water until soft. Drain, remove the skin, and place in a bowl.
  2. Add the ghee and milk and mash to a smooth and creamy consistency.
  3. Season with salt and pepper and spread the potato mash over the lentils.  Run a fork over the top to give a nice texture.

finish with the toppings

  1. Sprinkle over the cheeses and, lastly, the breadcrumbs. Decorate with a long, narrow strip of sliced tomatoes on top and a sprinkling of rosemary.
  2. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheeses have melted and the top is nicely browned.

Serve with a crunchy, green garden salad.

Goodness shared from Stacey