Typically
a shepherd’s pie is a meat pie with a mashed potato topping. What would you
call it then if it doesn’t have meat? Well, I called it “Farmer’s pie”, but
creative name suggestions are welcome :-). Irrespective of the name, it makes a
delicious and hearty meal coupled with a salad and maybe some bread. I used
chickpeas as the base ingredient to pull everything together, but any kind of
beans can be used. If you’re not particularly fond of beans or don’t need the
extra protein in the pie, beans can be skipped and you could use more
vegetables of any kind you like. The ingredients I used were what I had at
home, but other vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, squash etc.) could be
used as well.
Ingredients:
1
medium onion - chopped (~3/4 cup chopped)
2
cloves of garlic
1-2
carrots – chopped
~¾
cup chopped green beans
1
small bell pepper – chopped
1
can of chickpeas (or ~1.5 cup cooked chickpeas)
½
cup of cooked red lentils (optional – I used this because I had some leftover)
1
Tbsp oil
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
(optional)
Cumin
powder (optional)
Vegetable
stock/water (if required)
For
the topping:
~4-5
red potatoes (or any other kind) - boiled
1
sweet potato (optional) - boiled
1
Tbsp butter
Milk
Salt
Heat
oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and carrots and sauté until the
onion is translucent. If using cumin powder, add that at this point. Add green
beans, bell pepper and cook for a minute. Mix in chickpeas and lentils, salt,
pepper and paprika (adjust to taste). Cover and cook for a few minutes until
the chickpeas are soft. Use a fork or a potato masher, mash the mixture just a
little, but make sure there is still a good texture to the filling for the pie.
If the filling seems dry, add a little stock or water and let it heat through
to make sure the mixture is moist.
Mashed
potato topping:
Mash
the boiled potatoes separately. Divide the butter and add it to the potatoes.
Add milk if required to mash them to a smooth texture. Season with salt.
Assembling
and baking the pie:
Fill
a casserole/baking dish (I used a 8x8 glass dish) with the pie filling,
leveling it with the back of a spoon. Top it with the mashed potatoes. You can
get creative here and make any design you would like. Piping the potatoes with
a frosting tip is also a good option. I just spooned the potatoes over the
filling alternating between regular and sweet potatoes, and then made a pattern
on it with a fork. The patterns help make several edges on the mashed potatoes
which crisp up in the oven.
~Gayatri