I love experimenting in the kitchen, and at the moment it’s all about vegan food. This is my take on Shepherd’s Pie (so I’ve called it Shepherdess Pie instead!)… this has loads of veg, lentils and totally got the thumbs up from my meat-eating family. This is also absolutely perfect for this time of year, it’s filling, warming, comforting and very nutritious.

Ingredients

1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 leek
2 large carrots
3 sticks celery
3 large sweet potatoes
600ml bottle of Passata (I use a chunky one)
1 tin of lentils
1 TBS coconut oil
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into chunks, then steam, boil or microwave them until they are nice and soft. Meanwhile chop the onion and garlic and stir fry in the coconut oil using a large saucepan for about 5 minutes until soft. Thinly slice the leeks and then stir fry for a further 5 mins until soft. Peel and chop the carrots and slice the celery, then add to the saucepan. Add a little water and put the lid onto the saucepan and allow to steam for a further 5 mins.

Next add the bottle of Passata, lentils, and 2 tsp each of cumin, cinnamon and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook (with lid on) for about 30 mins and switch the oven on to 180 degrees. Meanwhile you can mash the sweet potato. Once the tomato/lentil mix is thoroughly cooked, transfer into a roasting dish and top with the mashed sweet potato. Cook in the oven for about 25 mins - the sweet potato will brown very slightly.

Enjoy with some greens - I like with steamed broccoli or spinach.