Beluga Lentil Shepherd's Pie

My mom's signature dish has always been shepherds pie (with beef of course), and she's made many previously uninitiated fans of it over the years.  I have discovered beluga lentils are a perfect substitute for beef in this recipe.  And even though it's a pain, it is worth it to sort the lentils prior to cooking so you don't end up biting into a rock and ruining your meal.  So this is pretty similar to my mom's recipe, but with a few more veggies, potato skins, yogurt instead of butter, parmesan instead of cheddar, and no peas because I didn't have any on hand.

 

2 cups beluga lentils, sorted and rinsed

2 medium carrots chopped

1 onion chopped

1/2 a yellow turnip peeled and chopped

4 medium russet potatoes chopped with skins

1/2 cup greek yogurt

parmesan, salt, pepper, olive oil

In a small pot, cook the lentils until almost all of the water has cooked off.  Set aside.  In a larger pot, boil the potatoes until soft, drain and mash with the yogurt.  Set aside.  In a large pot, saute the onion, carrot, and turnip in olive oil until soft.  Combine vegetables with lentils, season to taste, and pack tightly into a small casserole dish.  Top lentils with mashed potatoes and pack tightly, keeping surface as level as possible.  Top with parmesan cheese.  Bake covered in 350 oven for 25 mins and finish in broiler for another 5 with the lid off.  Serve in squares.

Mini Savoury Pots

Lentil Pie
While teaching in Co. Cavan at this years Scoil Eigse, I had the pleasure to inhabit and dine at the Cavan Crystal hotel for 8 days. The default vegetarian entree was a puy lentil pie. It was delicious and I had it three nights in a row before I asked if the chef might mix it up a bit for me. The only thing I changed was using sweet potatoes instead of normal ones. Either way it's yummy.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato peeled, boiled and mashed with some yogurt and herbs
1/2 cup puy lentils fully cooked
1/2 yellow onion sauteed until brown

Mix lentils and onions and pack tightly into bottom half of a ramekin. Top with mashed potato and bake until lightly browned on top.


Oyster Mushrooms Rockafeller
I ripped the idea for this recipe off from the Vegetarian Times. But their recipes aren't always authentic enough for me, so I looked up a recipe for Oysters Rockafeller, and switched in the oyster mushrooms for the oysters. I like when nature provides the perfect substitute for a non-veg item. Sort of like the lentils are for ground beef.

Lentil Barley Stuffed Peppers

This is not rocket science, but tastes so good and hearty. This is the kind of thing I wish local restaurant chefs would dream up for vegetarians. It is a focal point that you can pair with vegetable sides! If all you can think of is pasta and stir-fry then you fail the assignment! Anyway, enough of my rant.....

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils

1 cup purple barley (or regular barley)

1 red onion chopped

2 eggs

1 t chopped thyme

truffle oil to taste

As many peppers as you want

Equal # pieces of your favorite sliced cheese - I used provel because I am addicted to it.

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Cook the lentils and barley separately. Fluff the barley and drain the lentils and transfer into large mixing bowl. Sautee onion until it begins to carmelize. Add the thyme and sautee for 1 more minute. Transfer onions to bowl with lentils and barley. Add eggs, salt, pepper and truffle oil and mix thoroughly.

Cut the tops off peppers and set aside. Using your hands, grab as much of the seed cluster as you can. If necessary, go in with a knife and clean out the rest of the seeds and white fibrous bits. Set pepper cups close together in either an oiled deep baking dish or loaf pan. Pack lentil mixture inside pepper cups until completely full. Put tops of peppers back on top and bake for 30 mins at 425. Remove pepper tops and replace with 1 slice of cheese per pepper. Broil until cheese is brown and/or bubbly. Serve with salad, asparagus, or anything you want!