Vegetarian Lentil Cottage Pie
This Vegetarian Lentil Cottage Pie is packed with hearty mushrooms and lentils, rather than ground beef, to create a savory filling that's topped with luscious mashed potatoes and baked until crispy.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry lentils green or brown
- 3½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
- 3 cups creamy mashed potatoes
Instructions
- Rinse and separate lentils. Add to a small pot with 3 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, in a 3.5-quart cast iron pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. Once heated, add prepared onion, carrot and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent.
- Add in garlic and lower heat, as needed. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes before adding in chopped mushrooms. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes before seasoning with kosher salt, black pepper and dried thyme.
- Once everything is cooked and mushrooms have released water, add in 1 tablespoon flour. Stir until everything is coated. Add in lentils and the remaining stock from the pan and stir. If additional ½ cup of broth is needed, add it now.
- Stir in worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and frozen peas. Cook for a few minutes, until everything has come together. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley. Use the back of a wooden spoon to evenly layer out the cottage pie filling.
- Add prepared mashed potatoes to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (optional), and pipe to cover the top of the cottage pie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the top of the potatoes are starting to brown and crisp up. You can switch the oven to broiler for the last 1 to 2 minutes to ensure crispiness.
Notes
Instead of piping on the mashed potatoes, you can simply use a spoon to dot the potatoes and evenly spread them using a spatula. Use the tines on a fork to run through the potatoes and create ridges. That will give them more surface area to crisp up for added texture.