Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is a classic that I love, but I wanted to put a vegetarian spin on the dish. Enter lentils and mushrooms. This meal is hearty and hits that comfort food spot, without using red meat. Love!

Ingredients:

3 russet potatoes

1⁄2 pound carrots

1 yellow onion

4 ounces button mushrooms

3 ounces French green lentils

1/4 cup shredded fontina

salt, pepper, butter, garlic, flour, balsamic vinegar

Method:

Scrubs potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a large pot with 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover by an inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, uncover and cook until easily pierced with a fork. Reserve 1⁄2 cup potato water; drain and return potatoes to pot. Cover to keep warm off heat.

Scrub carrots, then halve and thinly slice into half-moons.

Finely chop onion. Finely chop 2 teaspoons garlic.

Thinly slice mushrooms.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and garlic, sliced carrots , and a pinch each of salt and pepper ; cook until fragrant and slightly softened. Add mushrooms; cook until veggies are tender and browned in spots.

To the skillet with veggies, add 1 tablespoon flour, stirring to coat. Stir in 2 1⁄2 cups water, lentils, 3⁄4 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until lentils are tender and sauce is thickened, 20–25 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, then stir in 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler with a rack in the top position. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the potatoes; mash with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and 1 tablespoon reserved potato water at a time to reach desired consistency. Spread mashed potatoes over lentil mixture.

Broil shepherd's pie until lightly browned in spots. Enjoy!

Comments

Raspberry Pomegranate Jam

Tis the season to be making homemade gifts! Pomegranates are in season and their juice is a festive deep ruby red color. I knew I had to make them into a jam to give away. Straight pomegranate flavor is a little tart for me; I added raspberries for the texture of their seeds and their sweetness. This is a very simple recipe to make and will yield 6 to 7 8 ounces jars of jam or 12 to 14 4 ounce jars, if you like to give away sample sizes during the holidays. Enjoy! Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups pomegranate juice 1 cup mashed raspberries 7 cups sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 1/75 ounce package Sure Jell Method: Sterilize your jars and lids. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed large stock pot, add the pomegranate juice, raspberries and butter. Mix well. Add in the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil then stir in the Sure Jell. Allow to boil hard for 1 minutes. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into the sterile jars, twist on the lids and pr

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar. My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together. I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 sticks of

Copycat Star Crunch

I really love Little Debbie snacks but I very rarely have them. I don’t like eating things that are full of unpronounceable ingredients and preservatives. Plus, I greatly prefer to make things myself. My favorites have to be Oatmeal Creme Pies and Star Crunch. I am still looking for a perfect Oatmeal Creme Pie copycat recipe, but this recipe for Star Crunch is absolutely perfect. These cookies are a fantastic combination of caramel, chocolate, and crunchy crisped rice cereal. They keep in a sealed container for a week, or in the fridge for a month. Next time you crave Little Debbie Star Crunch, try your hand at making your own! Ingredients: Recipe Credit: Adapted from Stella Parks 1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon vanilla paste 3 ounces of milk chocolate chips (use a chocolate for baking; some versions of “eating” chocolate contain too much fat. When your combine this chocolate and the caramel together, the

Watership Down Kitchen

Search This Blog