This veggie loaded shepherd’s pie is a heart-healthy take on a traditional family favourite. The stars of this dish are the colourful veggies and the legumes. It’s also low cost but nutrient rich and will help you feel fuller for longer. A great recipe to boost your daily veggie intake.
For this recipe and more great heart-healthy family favourites head to The Heart Foundation to download a copy of their latest Winter Comfort Foods recipe book!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- ¾ cup dried red lentils
- 500ml (2 cups) passata
- 1 reduced salt vegetable stock cube, crumbled
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
- 500g frozen mixed vegetables
Topping:
- 500g orange sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped
- 2 large (400g) potatoes, peeled, chopped
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup grated reduced fat tasty cheese
Method
- Heat oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Stir in lentils, passata, stock cube, herbs and 500ml hot water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 15-20 minutes, until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in frozen vegetables. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof dish (8-cup capacity).
- Meanwhile to make topping, cook sweet potato and potato in a large saucepan of boiling water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return vegetables to pan. Add milk, season with pepper and mash over low heat until smooth.
- Spoon mash over lentil mixture in dish and rough up surface with a fork or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in preheated 200C oven (fan-forced) for 20-25 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.
Tips
- We used a carrot, cauliflower, beans and broccoli frozen vegetable mix but any frozen vegetable mix can be used.
- Replace sweet potato with 500g pumpkin, if preferred.
