“This tasty twist on shepherd’s pie uses mainly store cupboard ingredients, swapping out the traditional minced lamb for curried lentils, chickpeas and vegetables, and regular potatoes for sweet potatoes. Serve with green vegetables.” Pip Payne, author of The Slimming Foodie Ultimate Comfort Food
Serves 4-6
600g (1lb 5oz) sweet potato, chopped, or frozen sweet potato chunks
Spray oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chilli powder
500g (1lb 2oz) tomato passata
2 x 400g (14oz) cans of green lentils, drained and rinsed
400g (14oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g (3½oz) frozen peas
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons mango chutney pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
Put the cubed sweet potato into a large saucepan of boiling water and simmer until tender. This should take around 15 minutes, but may take less time if you ar e using frozen sweet potato, so just follow the packet instructions.
Meanwhile, spray a sauté pan with oil and cook the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, carrots and celery. Sauté these for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the garam masala and chilli powder to the sauté pan, cook for 1 minute, then tip in the passata, lentils, chickpeas, frozen peas, crumbled stock cube, salt and 1 tablespoon of the mango chutney. Stir well and leave to simmer for a few minutes while you prepare the potatoes.
Drain the sweet potatoes, allow them to steam for a couple of minutes in the colander, then pop them back into their pan (or a bowl). Add the remaining tablespoon of mango chutney and a few grinds of pepper, then mash them until there are no lumps remaining.
Transfer the lentil mixture to a baking dish (I use a 5cm-/2 inch-deep 24cm/9½ inch square oven dish) and spread it out evenly.
Spoon the sweet potato over the top of the lentil mixture – I space spoonfuls evenly over the top, which then helps when spreading it out. Use a fork to spread the sweet potato to fully cover the lentil mixture, then use the prongs to create a cross-hatch pattern. Spray with oil, then bake for 30 minutes. If you want a little more crispiness and colour on the top of the pie, leave it under a hot grill for a few minutes after baking.