Super Cosy Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Straight up recipe today. All I have to say about this is that it's totally delicious, super cheap, and pretty darn easy to make. Give it a try people!

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, diced fine

2 large/3-4 medium or small carrots, diced fine

1 tsp dried thyme (or fresh if you're fancy like that)

1 tsp dried rosemary

200g cremini mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp dijon mustard

100 ml red wine

300 g brown lentils (or green...whatevs)

200 g barley (pearl or pot barley...whatevs)

1500ml mushroom/veggie stock

2 tbsp liquid aminos (or fish sauce if you're not rigidly veggie/vegan)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups frozen peas

7 potatoes, peeled

200 ml cream (or milk if you don't want to indulge too much)

Drizzle of truffle oil (totes optional)

1 cup grated cheddar/cheese of preference

1. In a large saucepan or crock pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the onions, carrots, thyme, and rosemary and soften for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, paprika, mustard, and a bit of salt to help everything sweat down, about another 5 minutes. Add the wine and de-glaze the pan.

2. Add the lentils and barley to the pan and stir with the softened veggie mix. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Then turn down to medium/low and let it simmer away for about 30-40 minutes with a lid on. Keep an eye on it to ensure the filling doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, topping up with a splash of water if you need to.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your mashed potatoes. Quarter your peeled potatoes and add to a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork easily pierces the potato. Drain and mash with the cream and truffle oil until smooth. Feel free to add your own mashed potato flavourings (like some more mustard or nutmeg, or spring onions). Season to taste.

4. When your filling is finished cooking, give it a taste and add more aminos/fish sauce or salt if the seasoning isn't quite there yet. Add the frozen peas and give them a stir until they're well mixed in.

5. Assemble the pie. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Celcius If the pan you've used for the filling is oven safe, just spread out the mash on top of the filling, add the grated cheese, and top with either an oven safe lid or some tin foil and bake for 25 minutes. Do the same in an oven safe dish if your filling pan can't go in the oven. Once its done, you can take the lid off and pop it under the broiler for a minute to give the cheese a nice golden colour.

6. Give it 5 minutes or so to cool off slightly out of the oven, and then serve up with some sauteed kale or peas.