Hi Friends,
Fall has arrived and I have entered the comfort food zone. All manner of squash and gourd are overflowing at the green market as well as multiple apple varieties. This is a favorite time of year for many of us - pulling out the cozy sweaters, adding a thicker blanket to your bed, hot baths, and most important, comfort food. For me, Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort food.
I remember my first version of shepherd’s pie from my Mormon summer camp days. Each summer up near Flagstaff Arizona we would gather in groups by age and sort out where we would station. Every year as we grew older, we would advance to another level of “camping”. Early days when I was around 9 or 10 years old we were in the lodge with stacks of bunk beds encircling the main room (and where, perched from my top bunk, I threw up into an unhappy campers shoes in the bunk below). The following year we graduated to a cabin where a smaller group of girls bunked up together in a traditional single room log cabin. The following year we moved to the indoor/outdoor lean-to and in our final year we pitched tents deep in the woods where we had to dig our own latrine, gather wood for the fire, cook our own meals, and hike. Before we headed into the deep woods we sorted our food out in the main lodge. This is where I assembled my first “shepherd’s pie”. Each of us laid out a large square of tin foil and topped it with a handful of ground beef, cubed potatoes, and a heaping helping of canned corn. Season with salt and pepper and fold and seal the contents in tin foil to later throw on the hot coals to cook. I loved making my packet and it actually tasted pretty good by camping standards. Once we had a our gear organized we set out to set up camp in the deep woods to find our spot and set up camp. By early eve we had pitched our tents, dug the latrine, and gathered wood for the fire to make dinner. We all threw our packets on the coals and cooked our shepherd's pie. After dinner our camp leaders got everyone in a single file to head to the latrine one more time before retiring to our tents. It was dark so the counselors used flashlights to guide us. Half way there we heard rustling ahead and saw flashlights bobbing in the distance. Our counselor stopped us and shouted out “who’s there?”. There was laughter and then a male voice returned: “we’re on a beaver hunt”! I didn’t know what that meant but our counselor seemed to understand and stopped dead in her tracks. She shouted back that they were on private property and they laughed and eventually went on their way. We campers had questions: Have you seen a beaver? Is there beaver here? Do beavers attack? None of us understood the context. Of course, years later I figured it out.
I’m happy to report that the recipe below does not include ground beef, canned corn, cubed potatoes, or tin foil! I’ve done a lot of tinkering with this recipe to get it right and I promise you it’s healthy and delicious! This version ticks off all the boxes to make a complete meal layering in all the food groups. They nest together perfectly, and bonus alert, It’s vegetarian! Lentils replace the meat here, and if you are a meat eater, I promise you won’t miss it. It’s hearty and satisfying while remaining light and delicious. Feel free to add your own layers or additions. Let me know what favorite fall dishes you’re cooking up. I’ve got my apron on and I’m ready to go!
Love,
Nancy Jo
Curried Lentil Shepard’s Pie
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered, about 1 1/2 lbs
1/2 cup plain kefir
1/4 cup ghee
1 cup black beluga or French green lentils
2 TBLS olive oil
1 TBLS ghee (or butter)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 cube vegetable bouillon (I use Rapunzel brand)
3 1/2 cups water
1 large celery stalk, cut into fine dice
1 large carrot, scrubbed, and cut into fine dice
1 small yellow or red onion, cut into fine dice
1 heaping TBLS curry powder (I use an Indian spiced variety)
2 TBLS tomato paste
1 large head Swiss chard, leaves removed, stems trimmed and cut into fine dice
Method:
Put the potatoes in a deep pot and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes until you can easily pierce with a fork, about 20 minutes (I always check while cooking so they don’t get soggy). Drain, reserving about a cup of cooking water. Return drained potatoes to the pan and mash them. While mashing, add the 1/4 cup of ghee, 1/2 cup of kefir or yogurt, a little bit of the cooking water (I add as needed to make the mash creamy), and salt and pepper to taste. I add more ghee and kefir if needed for taste and consistency. Cover and set aside.
While the potatoes are cooking, bring 3 1/2 cups of water to boil in a medium saucepan.
Add the lentils, bouillon cube, bay leaf, and thyme spring and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until "al dente”. Turn off the heat and keep the lentils in their cooking liquid.
Heat 2 TBLS olive oil and 1TBLS ghee together in a deep sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and chard stems and sauté until the edges of the onion are lightly browned. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring to coat. Add the tomatoes paste and stir well to combine. Stir another minute and then add the lentils and their liquid. Stir well and simmer gently over medium heat until it starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
Wash the chard and cut or rip the leaves from the center ribs into bite sized pieces. Trim the tough ends of the stems and discard. Cut the stems crosswise into fine dice.
*you can steam the leaves or do a quick braise: heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and add the freshly washed leaves to the pan, tuning to coat the leaves in the oil. Cover and steam for 5-8 minutes until wilted. Drain off excess water and set aside.
Transfer the lentil mixture to an ovenproof casserole large enough to hold all of the layers.
Layer of braised Swiss chard over the lentils and top with the mashed potatoes. I dot the potatoes with ghee (or butter if you choose) to melt during cooking.
Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are lightly browned and the lentils are bubbling. Remove form oven and let it set for 10-15 minutes and then serve.
Good story as always, and having been a recipient of that dish, OMG, it’s amazing.
Saved it to my recipe folder!