SRC Reunion 2018- Vegetarian Shepard's Pie

Welcome to the 2018 reunion of the Secret Recipe Club. This is a recipe sharing group where each blogger was assigned a different blog each month, made a recipe, and posted on the reveal day. We have posted in over a year and decided it was time to have a reunion!

I received the blog, The Aspiring Home Cook. The mind behind the blog belongs to Trisha. She is a lover of travel and a collector of recipes. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia but is originally from India. Her blog is full of different  traditional Goan food recipes that she picked up from my mother. It was so difficult to decide what to make! Her recipe for Thai Chicken Patties, Goan Red (Beef) Kheema, and Goan Meatball Curry sounded amazing!  Ultimately, I decided to make Vegetarian Shepard's Pie. I love lentils, and loved the idea of a veggie packed dinner.  

My family loved this recipe and the only small change I made was to add a little red wine because you know my love of red wine and lentils! We are trying to add a meatless meal to our weekly dinners, and I was thrilled to get great feedback from not only my husband, but my 5 and 2 year old. I can't wait to make this recipe again! Thank you Trisha!

Ingredients

1 cup cooked lentils

1 Tbl olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

Handful of button mushrooms, sliced

Salt, to taste

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1 Tbl tomato paste

1 Tbl flour

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

3/4 cup frozen peas

6-8 potatoes, depending on size (You need enough to make about 4 cups worth of mashed potatoes)

3 Tbl butter

2/3 cup milk

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium heat (I used my cast iron). Add the onions, carrots, and celery and saute till the veggie start to soften. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.

Next, add the mushrooms, salt, thyme, smoked paprika and pepper to the pan. Stir well and continue cooking till the mushrooms have softened.

Add the tomato paste and the flour to the skillet. Stir and continue to cook the veggies till they're coated and the mixture starts to coats the bottom of the pan. This should take about 2 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth and wine to the pan. Stir to dissolve the flour and tomato paste that has coated the bottom of the pan.

Bring the broth to a simmer. It will have started thickening. Add in the cooked lentils and peas and let them all heat through. Check to see if additional seasoning is needed. 

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes to cut down on cooking time.

Boil them in salted water till tender. Drain and mash, with a mixer or by hand, the potatoes with the butter and milk till no lumps are left. Taste and add more salt, if needed.

Smooth lentil mixture in the oven safe skillet and top with the mashed potatoes. It is easier to handle the mashed potato when it is still warm. You may not get the potatoes smoothed all across the potatoes, but use a spoon to wok towards the edges. 

Bake for around 15 minutes till everything has heated through. 

Sprinkle some more freshly cracked black pepper over the top and serve immediately.

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