I have just got back from 9 days back home in Sussex filled with a tremendous amount of dog walks and comfort food (I’ve subsequently put on about a stone, but it was all worth it!) For my first night back in Sussex, my Mum cooked an amazing shepherds pie followed by apple crumble.

So, back in London and keen for some home comforts, I found this amazing vegan shepherds pie recipe on Jamie’s website. It tastes better than any meat shepherds pie I’ve ever had (sorry, Mum), but of course you can easily add meat to the recipe if you wish. It also doesn’t have to be vegan… I used dairy-free margarine for the sweet potato mash but you can use normal butter if you’re not that fussed!

Shopping list: 1kg sweet potato, butter/dairy-free margarine, 1 onion, 2 carrots, garlic, 2 sticks of celery, thyme, 350g chestnut mushrooms, 12 sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, red wine, vegetable stock, 400g tin of lentils, 400g tin of chickpeas, parsley.

I’m aware that this is quite a lengthy shopping list, but this is usually the case with Jamie. And it really is worth it! I did my first online food shop this week (I’ve definitely converted) so getting these ingredients was relatively easy.

 

Gimme the pie:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

1) So start off with the mash. Jamie says to peel and chop the potatoes, boil for 10 minutes, add the butter, salt and pepper and then mash. However, I am super lazy so I did not peel my potatoes and instead roasted them for 45 minutes and then mashed in the tray, skin and all. (Please see above)

2) Peel and chop the onion, carrots, celery, and 2 garlic cloves. Add to a pan with some olive oil and some thyme leaves. Cook for around 10 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. When the 10 minutes have passed, add the the pan with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomato oil from the jar.

4) Cook for another 10 minutes then add a splash of wine, 100ml vegetable stock, lentils and chickpeas. Leave for another 10 minutes. Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves, then season with salt and pepper. (At this time, my sweet potatoes were ready to be mashed so I did that)

5) Transfer to a large baking dish and then spread the mash over the top. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.