There's really not much to say about this dish, apart from the fact that it's blummin' delicious; so good, in fact, that it had two very hardened meat eaters going back for seconds! A great dish for sticking in the middle of the table and letting folks get stuck in, this is a total crowd pleaser and the ultimate comfort food. Perfect served with a simple side of peas (and a nice dollop of brown sauce or ketchup!). This recipe makes loads, so it's also a great one for freezing (just omit the cheese and add it on when you've defrosted it).
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
60g butter
2 onions, finely chopped
400g carrots, peeled, and finely chopped
400g celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
250g button mushrooms, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 sprig rosemary
1.2l vegetable stock
1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
250g pre-cooked puy lentils (I buy a pouch)
150g dried red lentils
2 tbsp Hendersons relish (or Lea and Perrins)
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 kg Maris piper potatoes, peeled, and roughly chopped
100g butter
100ml whole milk
100g mature cheddar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Heat the butter in a large, heavy based pan.
Add the onion, carrot, celery and bay leaves.
Place a sheet of greaseproof paper over the veg, pushing down lightly and cook the vegetables over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
Add the tomato puree, cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly.
Add the mushrooms, chopped rosemary, rosemary sprig, puy lentils and red lentils and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Finally, add the Hendersons relish, tomato ketchup and stock, mix well and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 15 minutes until cooked through.
Drain, add the butter and milk and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Mash the potatoes thoroughly until soft and creamy.
Remove the rosemary sprig from the lentil mixture and decant the mixture into a large oven proof dish (you may need to use 2 dishes as this makes quite a lot!).
Top with the mashed potato, spreading the mash over the top of the lentil mixture until fully covered, and finally sprinkle over the cheese.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Lovely with peas and a dollop of sauce.
So good x