Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

This is another classic dish which is very easy (easier?!) to turn into a great vegetarian meal. After trying lots of different ingredients, this one became my favourite, but feel free to experiment!

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the filling

1 Large onion, peeled and diced

1 Red pepper, deseeded and diced

1 Large carrot, peeled and diced

2 Cloves of garlic, crushed

100g Mushrooms, sliced

200g Swede, peeled and finely diced

400g Tin kidney beans

400g Tin pinto beans

2 tbs olive oil

400g Tin chopped tomatoes or Passata

2 tsp Mixed herbs

1 tbs Tomato purée

1 tbs Sweet chilli sauce

1 tbs Soy sauce

2 tsp vegetable bouillon

For the topping

500g Potatoes, peeled and chopped

100ml Milk

25g Butter

50g Grated cheddar cheese

1tbs Soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Add the olive oil to a large frying pan and gently sauté the onions and garlic for 5-8 minutes.

2. Add the carrots, swede, mushrooms and pepper and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add the remaining filling ingredients, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the potatoes. Boil until soft, then drain and add the milk, butter and seasoning and mash until smooth.

5. Preheat the oven to 180C

6. Spoon the mixture into a large ovenproof casserole dish and carefully layer the mashed potato on the top. Wrinkle generously with grated cheese and add a few drops of soy sauce or veg. Worcestershire sauce to aid browning.

7. Bake for 25 minutes until brown and crispy.

8. Serve immediately with fresh greens.