Vegetables in shepherds pie

Shepherd’s pie that will have everyone flocking around!

Comfort food can be healthy as well as delicious! I’ve found that over the years of trying to eat more healthily, I’ve actually started craving vegetables…yes really! I often adapt recipes to fit more vegetables in, as quite often meat-based dishes have too much protein and not enough plant matter. For example, many recipes for a Shepherd’s pie are primarily mince based with perhaps some onion or carrot. I like to switch the ratios and generally reduce the amount of meat and increase veggies. This ensures you’re getting a healthy hit of protein (we only need a palm sized portion per meal) and a good amount of fibre, vitamins and antioxidants from the vegetables.

Here’s my Shepherd’s pie, which is wonderfully comforting and packed full of fibre, vitamins and minerals (=healthy!). I make with beef mince, but it’s also equally amazing with lentils.

Serves 4-6 hungry adults or 8 with a side of veggies (yes, more veggies!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Herbs – large pinch of oregano, sage, thyme (or whatever you fancy)
  • 500g beef mince / French lentils
  • Veggies – as many as you can fit in your pot! I love carrots, mushrooms, celery, zucchini, cabbage
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 500-750ml stock
  • Gnarly mash (recipe here)
  • Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:

  • Finely chop onion and garlic and saute in a little olive oil for a few mins until soft
  • Sprinkle in your herbs of choice and stir for another minute until fragrant
  • Add mince if using and cook until brown, stirring often
  • Add lentils (if using), chopped veggies, can of tomatoes and stock. You just need enough liquid to cover the veggies
  • Bring to boil and simmer for 45 mins-1 hr (or longer – it just gets better the longer you can simmer it for!)
  • Meanwhile, make your gnarly mash (recipe link above)
  • Assemble into a large casserole dish and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds
  • Bake or grill to brown the top