Irish Shepherdless Pie

Traditional Irish dish with less of the calories

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic
3 celery stalks
2 red onions
2 bay leaves
3 tomatoes
1 medium carrot
1 medium parsnip
3 tsp salt
2 tins of cooked green lentils or soaked lentils
10 fine beans, chopped into bite-sized bits
1 tsp smoked paprika
fresh parsley
water for sautéing
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 medium size potatoes
1 tblsp rapeseed oil

Method

1.Chop the potatoes up, put them in a pot and cover with water. Boil the potatoes (bring to the boil, turn temperature down and then leave to simmer until potatoes are properly boiled).
2.Sautée the onions for five minutes at medium to high heat in some rapeseed oil. Add the garlic and sautée for a further five minutes.
3.Cut the carrot, parsnip and celery into small pieces and add to the pot and then add two teaspoons of salt and leave to sweat for five minutes.
4.Put tinned lentils and tinned tomatoes in bowl and whizz until it resembles mince.
5.Now add the cooked lentils (drain the tin of lentils and give them a good rinse before using), black pepper, smoked paprika, bay leaves, and three fresh tomatoes.
6.Bring to the boil, and then lower the heat, add in the fine beans (chopped bite size) and dice up parsley and add for colour. Leave simmer. If the mixture is too wet, drain off some liquid.
7.Mash the potatoes, add some salt and pepper to taste and add three cloves of garlic diced up fine.
8.Now put the lentil mixture in a casserole tray and top with the mashed potato. Approximately 2/3 lentil and 1/3 potato.
9.Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees or until top of potato starts to crisp.