Vegetable dhansak-style bake
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 4
This warming pie has a deliciously spiced mushroom and lentil filling and is topped with creamy, cheesy mash – it’s the ultimate veggie comfort food!
Ingredients
For the vegetable dhansak-style filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 300g/10½oz chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 4 portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 500ml/18fl oz vegetable stock
- 400g/14oz cooked Puy lentils
- 2 tbsp yeast extract
- 2 tbsp Hendersons relish or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping
- 250ml/9fl oz double cream
- 250g/9oz unsalted butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 head garlic, cut in half
- 10g fresh thyme
- 1kg/2lb 4oz boiled floury potatoes, mashed
- 10g tarragon, finely chopped
- 100g/3½oz crispy onions
- 250g/9oz mature cheddar, grated
- 10g fresh chives, finely chopped, to serve
Method
To make the vegetable dhansak-style filling, add the oil to a large frying or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, thyme, garlic, celery and fennel and fry for 5–8 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
Add the mushrooms, spices and flour to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée and stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and add the lentils, yeast extract and Henderson's relish.
Simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce the stock to a coating consistency. Season and transfer into a 30cm/12in round pie dish.
To make the topping, gently heat the cream, butter, bay, garlic and thyme to a saucepan over a low heat to infuse for around 30 minutes. Strain the cream mixture through a sieve. discarding the garlic and herbs.
Beat the milk mixture into the mashed potatoes until smooth. Stir in the tarragon and crispy onions.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Top the pie with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle over the cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.
Sprinkle over the chives and serve.
