Family Meals 4.7

Share Print Plan Save

Beef and Lentil Cottage Pie

A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please every...A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please everyone - we use a small amount of minced beef mixed with red lentils, so you get the satisfaction of eating meat with a lot more fibre. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian you can use tempeh instead of beef - give it a few pulses in the food processor until it's crumbly. Read more A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please everyone - we use a small amount of minced beef mixed with red lentils, so you get the satisfaction of eating meat with a lot more fibre. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian you can use tempeh instead of beef - give it a few pulses in the food processor until it's crumbly. A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please everyone - we use a small amount of minced beef mixed with red lentils, so you get the satisfaction of eating meat with a lot more fibre. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian you can use tempeh instead of beef - give it a few pulses in the food processor until it's crumbly.

Why is this healthy?

Contains

Dairy

Ingredients

Serves 4

Metric Imperial

olive oil

red onion

finely diced

carrot

finely diced

celery

finely diced

garlic cloves

minced

tomato puree

worcestershire sauce

thyme

red lentils (dried)

beef mince

Swaps: plain tempeh

beef stock cube

peas (frozen)

For the mashed potatoes

potatoes

washed, skin-on, cut into 4cm pieces

milk (dairy)

Swaps: milk (plantbased)

olive oil

Swaps: butter

Share ingredients

Ingredients

Serves 4

Metric Imperial

olive oil

red onion

finely diced

carrot

finely diced

celery

finely diced

garlic cloves

minced

tomato puree

worcestershire sauce

thyme

red lentils (dried)

beef mince

Swaps: plain tempeh

beef stock cube

peas (frozen)

For the mashed potatoes

potatoes

washed, skin-on, cut into 4cm pieces

milk (dairy)

Swaps: milk (plantbased)

olive oil

Swaps: butter

Share ingredients

Method

Gather and prepare your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes, until softened.

Add the garlic, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Cook for 1-2 minutes until darkened and fragrant.

Add the red lentils and beef and stir to coat. Chop up the beef with the back of your spatula. The beef doesn't need to fully cook at this stage.

Add the stock, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, until tender. Add more stock if needed, you want the mixture to be a little saucy but not excessively so. If using beef, cook uncovered. If using tempeh, cover the pan during cooking.

Add the peas at the end and cook for about 1 minute, just until defrosted.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 17-20 minutes until tender. Drain well. Allow the potatoes to sit in the colander for several minutes to steam. The drier your potatoes are at this stage, the creamier your mash will be.

While the potatoes are draining place the milk and olive oil into the pan over a low heat. Heat for 2-3 minutes, just until shivering but do not let it bubble.

Turn off the heat and add the cooked potatoes to the pan with the milk. Mash until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning to taste. Don’t worry if it appears wet at first. Potatoes absorb a lot of liquid and they will dry out further in the oven. As there is a fairly minimal amount of added fat in this mash you need a lot of liquid to avoid a grainy texture.

Spoon the mashed potatoes over the base. If desired, use a fork to create grooves in the mashed potatoes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling at the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Create a free account, or log in

Now you've seen a few free recipes, unlock 100s of others by creating a free account.