Winter Warmer Cottage Pie
This delicious vegan cottage pie recipe uses Alpro Almond Unsweetened drink to make the super creamy- yet dairy free mashed potato topping. The perfect winter warmer, this veggie pie recipe uses seasonal plant-based ingredients that you can pick up from your local shop. This is a recipe to eat with the seasons, and putting plant-based foods first, is good for you AND good for the planet. That thought makes our delicious vegan recipes even more tasty!
Serves
Ingredients
For the filling
<item-todo-done>2 tbsp olive oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp dried Italian herbs<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp tomato purée<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp Marmite<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp red wine vinegar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 red onion<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 garlic cloves<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 leek<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 celery stick<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 carrots<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>250g chestnut mushrooms<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 x 400g pre-cooked lentils - vacuum packed or tinned / puy or beluga<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>150g frozen peas<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt & pepper to taste<item-todo-done>
For the topping
<item-todo-done>2 tbsp plant-based butter<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>650g Maris Piper potatoes<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt & pepper to taste<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>100ml plant-based milk<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Preheat oven to 180°C | Ovenproof baking dish | Large Pan | Potato masher | Food Processor
Peel and finely chop the onion
- Finely chop the leek and the celery
- Peel and grate the garlic
- Peel and grate the carrot
- Blitz the mushrooms into a mince with the food processor
Warm the olive oil in a deep frying over a low heat
- Add the onions and sweat them down slowly for 5-7 minutes
- Add the garlic to the pan and stir for 1 minute
- Add the leek, carrot, celery and herbs to the pan and stir for 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir for 5-7 minutes until they're well sweated
- Add the tomato puree, marmite and red wine vinegar to the pan and stir for 1 minute
- Add the lentils to the pan and stir for 3-4 minutes until totally warmed through
- Add the peas to the pan and fold them through the filling
- Taste the filling, season to taste with salt and pepper and set to one side
Meanwhile, peel and the quarter the potatoes
- Add them to a large saucepan and cover with cold water
- Put the pan on the stove over a high heat, sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil
- When the water is boiling, cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and leave them to steam dry for 5 minutes
- Pour the potatoes back into the saucepan, add the butter, milk and mash until smooth
- Taste the potato and season with salt and pepper
Pour the filling in to baking dish
- Smooth out with a spoon
- Spoon the mashed potato over the filling and smooth it out over the filling with a spoon
- Scrape decorative patterns into the potato with the back of a fork
- Put the Cottage Pie in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the potato is turning golden and crispy
- Remove the pie from the oven and serve immediately