It's no secret that we love a shepherd's pie here at Good Housekeeping. Hearty, rich and a foolproof recipe to feed a crowd when you're craving something comforting.
Our vegetarian take on the classic dish uses precooked lentils to save time and is topped with sweet potato mash, but feel free to opt for buttery mashed potatoes if you prefer.
Try pairing this with an all-rounder red wine (pinot noir works particularly well) and a vibrant green salad.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Cal/Serv:
595
Ingredients
1Tbsp.
olive oil
2
medium onions, finely sliced
1
star anise
1
large carrot, finely diced
1Tbsp.
tomato puree
1
large garlic clove, crushed
1tsp.
thyme, chopped
1tsp.
rosemary, chopped
200ml
white wine
vegetable stock cube, crumbled
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g tin brown or green lentils
900g
sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
50g
butter
50-75g vegetarian mature Cheddar, grated
Directions
Step 1
In a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and fry the onion with the star anise until browned. Reduce the temperature to low, add the carrot, tomato purée, garlic and nearly all the herbs and cook for 2min. Pour in the wine and simmer for 5min until reduced slightly. Remove star anise, then add stock cube, tomatoes and lentils with their juice and 50ml water. Cook for 10min until the carrots are just tender; season to taste.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cover sweet potatoes with cold water in a large pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15min. Drain, steam dry in colander, then return to the pan and mash with the butter and plenty of seasoning.
Step 3
Heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Spoon lentil mixture into a 2 litre pie dish and dollop the mash over the top. Sprinkle with enough cheese to just cover the mash and then the remaining herbs. Cook for 20min, or for 35min from chilled, until hot all the way through and golden on top.
GH tips
Frying the onions with star anise creates a satisfying depth of flavour
Get ahead
This pie can be prepared and chilled up to 3 days in advance and it freezes well.
Freeze ahead
Assemble the pie in step 3 (without final sprinkle of herbs) but don’t cook. Cool, wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, defrost in fridge and complete recipe, allowing extra time in the oven if needed.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
