Lentil and potato pie

Nigel Slater

Sun 24 May 2020 10.30 BST

This is a good-natured recipe that will take whichever lentils and vegetables you have lying around. Use brown, yellow or green lentils in the filling; spinach or chard for the greens; and mashed potatoes, swede, sweet potatoes or parsnip for the crust. Serves 6

For the filling:
onions 450g (2, medium)
olive or vegetable oil 3 tbsp
carrots 150g
celery 1 stalk
garlic 2 cloves
bay leaves 3
thyme 6 bushy sprigs
parsley 8 sprigs
lentils, brown or green 350g
tomatoes 500g
vegetable stock 500ml
spinach 350g

For the top:
potatoes 500g
sweet potatoes 1 kg
butter 50g
parsley a small bunch

Peel and roughly chop the onions, then cook them in the oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Cut the carrots and celery into fine dice, peel and finely chop the garlic then add all to the softening onions and continue cooking for 10 minutes, until the onion is golden and translucent.

Add the bay leaves to the pan. Remove the leaves from the thyme and parsley, then stir into the vegetables.

Cook the lentils in deep boiling water for 20 minutes, until they are just tender, then drain.

Cut the tomatoes into small dice and stir into the vegetables, leaving them to simmer for a further 10 minutes until the tomatoes have released their juice.

Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, season and leave the vegetables to putter away over a low heat.

Check the liquid level from time to time: you want a decent amount of juice, so add some more boiling water if needed. Drain the lentils and add them to the pan.

Peel the potatoes and sweet potatoes, then steam or boil until tender. This is best done separately. Drain and mash with a vegetable masher or food mixer. Add the butter, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and set aside.

Wash the spinach leaves and put them, still wet, into a pan over a moderate heat. Cover tightly with a lid and let them cook for a minute or two until wilted.

Remove the leaves, drain them and squeeze out most of the moisture.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.

Stir the spinach into the lentils then transfer to a deep baking dish, about 24 x 28cm. Spoon the mashed vegetables on top and bake for 20 minutes.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/24/nigel-slater-recipes-for-lentil-pie-and-asparagus-with-tomato-and-yogurt-sauce