Vegetarian Lentil & Mushroom Cottage Pie

This recipe has a several concurrent steps and uses a lot of dishes, but it is so meaty and hearty that it's sure to please even the carnivores in your life. It's also easily made vegan by swapping non-dairy milk and plant-based butter in the mashed potatoes.

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Servings 6

Prep Time 10

Resting Time 5

Total Time 1 15

Ingredients

850 g (1¾ lb) portobello mushrooms stems removed
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
25 g (¾ cup) dried porcini mushrooms
200 g (1 cup) dried green lentils rinsed
500 g (1 lb) potatoes peeled and cut into 4cm (1.5in) pieces
180 ml (¾ cup) whole milk
50 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 yellow onion finely diced
1 carrot peeled and finely diced
1 stalk celery finely diced
1 tbsp white miso paste
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
150 ml (⅔ cup) dry red wine
1 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Using a food processor (or a sharp chef's knife and some patience) pulse the portobello mushrooms until they are finely ground. You may need to work in batches. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and drizzle over 1 tbsp of oil and ½ tsp of salt. Stir until well combined.
Spread the mushrooms on a parchment-lined baking sheet and move to the oven. Cook, stirring halfway through, until reduced in size by at least half, a good portion of the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown - about 20-30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F.
Add the porcini mushrooms to a heatproof bowl. Add the vegetable stock to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour the stock over the mushrooms. Cover and allow to rehydrate for at least 15 minutes. Once tender, remove from the soaking liquid (reserve the liquid) and roughly chop the mushrooms. Set aside.
Meanwhile, add the lentils to the same saucepan in which you heated the stock, cover completely with cool water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender but the lentils still have a bit of bite. Drain and set aside.
While the lentils are cooking, add the potatoes to a medium saucepan and cover with cool water. Season generously with salt and set over high heat. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.
Pour over about ⅔ of the milk, add the butter and nutritional yeast along with a generous pinch of salt. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy, adding more milk, as needed, to reach a spreadable texture. Cover the pot and set aside until needed.
While the mushrooms and lentils are still cooking, add 2 tbsp of olive oil to a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the onion, carrot and celery along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring every so often, until the vegetables are softened and beginning to brown - about 10 minutes.
Add the miso paste, tomato paste and thyme and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant - about 2 more minutes.
Pour over the red wine & soy sauce and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until the wine has reduced significantly and the strong alcoholic smell has cooked off.
Add the cooked lentils, ground portobello mushrooms and chopped porcini mushrooms to the pot. Pour over the mushroom soaking liquid and bring to a simmer. Stirring, allow to cook for another few minutes.
Transfer the filling to a 20cm (8in) square baking dish and spread it out evenly. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly on top of the mushroom mixture and use the tines of a fork to make light grooves in the top of the mashed potatoes.
Set the dish atop a baking sheet (to prevent drips) and move to the oven. Cook until the top of the cottage pie is beginning to brown and the filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Serve.