Peas, carrots, smashed potatoes, and savory lentils make this a favorite comfort food. For a quick dish, serve the lentil stew on top of the potatoes. For a more traditional look, serve the stew in a bowl and top the stew with hot mash potatoes!
Wash potatoes well and cut into 1" cubes. Leave the skin on for a more rustic texture.
Bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add potatoes and salt. Add extra water if needed to cover the potatoes. Add a loose lid to the pot and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
Remove potatoes from the heat. RESERVE THE LIQUID as you drain the potatoes and let them cool for 10 minutes..
Cut up the butter. Add the butter, salt, and pepper to the potatoes and mash until fluffy. Put in the refrigerator to cool overnight (see NOTE). If the potatoes are not moist enough, add some of the reserved stock.OPTIONAL: For an easy presentation, shape the potatoes into 4 equal size balls. Place on a small cookie tray and smash into a "pancake". Cover lightly and let freeze.
Lentil Carrot Stew
Set your Instant Pot to "Sauté" and bring it up to temperature. Add 2 TBSP of avocado oil. Sauté the minced shallots and the diced carrots. Cook until tender and fragrant.
Add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms release their moisture and the moisture evaporates. The mushrooms will start to brown.
Push the mushrooms and shallots to the side of the pot. Add the tomato paste to the center. Cook the tomato paste until it is fragrant and begins to brown lightly. Use several tablespoons of the broth to help scrape up the bits of caramelized tomato paste off the bottom of the pot.
Seal the Instant Pot and set on multigrain for 20 minutes. Seal the pot and let cook.
When the Instant Pot has finished cooking, carefully turn the steam release valve and let the pot depressurize. Carefully open the depressurized pot and stir in the frozen peas. Stir well so the hot stew will heat the frozen peas evenly
Serving Options
If your potatoes are cold, heat them in a skillet. If your potatoes are in frozen disks, cook like pancakes: let hem heat and brown on one side, then flip and brown the other side. For an informal serving, place hot mashed potatoes in the bottom of a "cereal" bowl. Add 1/4 of the cheese and and top with 1/4 of the lentil stew. For a more formal presentation, reverse the stacking order. Stew in the bowl, cheese in the middle, toasted mashed potties on the top.Garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
CHEF'S NOTE: There is breaking research that potatoes loose their carbohydrate "spike" when they are refrigerated and cooled following baking. Interestingly enough, this "low glycemic" effect remains even when the potatoes are reheated. Chef Leander recommends making the potatoes the day before (when possible) and reheating to serve up this amazing meal.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Lentil Vegetable Shepherd Pie
Serving Size
1 recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
574.53
% Daily Value*
Fat
21.08
g
32
%
Saturated Fat
4.49
g
28
%
Trans Fat
0.06
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
4.13
g
Monounsaturated Fat
9.16
g
Sodium
1811.56
mg
79
%
Potassium
2017.31
mg
58
%
Carbohydrates
79.53
g
27
%
Fiber
22.19
g
92
%
Sugar
12.67
g
14
%
Protein
21.36
g
43
%
Vitamin A
9238.21
IU
185
%
Vitamin C
67.77
mg
82
%
Calcium
199.36
mg
20
%
Iron
8.1
mg
45
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.