Lentil Cottage Pie
Cottage pie is British nursery food, a layer of savory mince under mashed potato, and lentils step into the meat's role without any strain. The base of the flavor is built the same way a meat version would be: vegetables sweated soft, mushrooms chopped fine and browned until meaty, and tomato paste toasted until it turns brick red and deep. Brown lentils hold their shape and give the filling its substance and protein, while a spoonful of tamari brings the savory pull that beef would. The crust is ordinary mashed potato made creamy with soy milk and savory with nutritional yeast, then raked with a fork so the ridges crisp in the oven. It reheats well and freezes before or after baking, which makes it worth building the full dish.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups Brown lentils, rinsed
- 8 oz Cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 whole Yellow onions, diced
- 2 wholes Carrots (cooking), diced
- 2 stalks Celery, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Low-sodium tamari
- 1 tsp Dried thyme
- 1 tsp Dried rosemary, crushed
- 2 wholes Bay leaves
- 1 cup Frozen peas
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 2 lb Potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened soy milk
- 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast
Method
- Simmer the brown lentils with the bay leaves in 3 cups (710 ml) unsalted water until just tender, about 25 minutes. Leave them a touch firm, because they will cook again in the oven, and hold the salt so the skins stay soft. Drain, saving the cooking liquid, and discard the bay leaves.
- Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in unsalted water until fully soft, about 15 minutes. Drain well and mash with the soy milk and nutritional yeast until smooth. The nutritional yeast gives the mash a savory, almost cheesy depth, and soy milk makes it creamy, so it browns into a real crust with no butter.
- Sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in a splash of water in a wide pan until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and let them cook down and brown; chopping them fine and browning them hard is what gives the filling its meaty body and savory pull in place of beef.
- Stir in the garlic, then the tomato paste, and cook it a minute until it darkens to brick red. Toasting the paste this way deepens it from sharp to rich and savory, one of the biggest flavor gains for the least effort. Add the lentils, tamari, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and enough of the reserved lentil liquid to make a thick, spoonable filling. Simmer 5 minutes, then stir in the peas.
- Heat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Spread the filling in a baking dish and top with the mash, spreading it to the edges to seal. Drag a fork across the surface in ridges: those raised lines catch the heat and crisp into golden peaks. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the filling bubbles at the edges. Rest 10 minutes before serving so it holds its shape on the spoon.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 320 calories, 16 g protein, 12 g fiber, 140 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
