Diet Shepherd’s Pie

Mmmmh Shepherd’s Pie. It’s the ultimate rainy-day-yucky-feeling-I-need-something-nice food. Unfortunately, even the veganised version of this is a bit unhealthy, with all those creamy mashed potatoes and fake mince. I know a certain egg-loaded brand of vegetarian meat-substitute would like you to think that your troubles would be over if you used their products more often, but it’s still loaded with sodium and other weird ingredients that make processed foods the demons that they are.  So for this recipe, I use lentils instead of meat, kohlrabi (or whatever you want to call it, I’ve not heard many people talk about it, so I don’t know what it’s usually called in England. If you know, leave me a comment) makes up half of the mash and a hint of soya cream adds, well, creaminess.

Can I just mention here that the finished product is mind-numbingly ugly, which is why I photographed the ingredients rather than the actual pie.

Serves 3

Ingredients

1/2 cup puy lentils
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbs soya cream
Spray Oil, such as Fry Light
Salt and Pepper

In a medium saucepan, boil you lentils for about 10-15 minutes. In another medium saucepan, boil the potatoes and kohlrabi for about 20 minutes, or until soft.
While your root vegetables are cooking, spray a frying pan with oil and sauté your onion until tender. Add the garlic and lentils and let them cook for about 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. That’s your “mince” done!
When your vegetables are nice and soft, drain them and place them back in the saucepan. Mash them together with 2 tablespoons of your soya cream and additional salt and pepper.
To assemble, place your mince into a small glass baking dish, cover with the mashed potatoes and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of cream over your pie. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and bake at 200°C for 25 minutes. Voila. Shepherd’s Pie.

I know that three portions are a bit of an awkward quantity, but it usually works out brilliantly for us because I have the leftovers for lunch.

This recipe comes in at around 302 calories per portion, depending on the size of your potatoes.