Shepherds Pie Stuffed Aubergine
Ingredients
- 1 Leek
- 1 Carrot Large ( or 2 Med)
- 1 Celery stick
- 100 g Red Lentils
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock
- 100 g Frozen Peas
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 3-4 med sweet potato 700-800g
- plant-based butter for the mash
- Garlic Infused Olive Oil
- 2 Aubergines *
- salt & pepper
- cayenne optional
- Parsley to garnish ( optional)
- Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Begin by preparing your aubergine. To do this, slice each aubergine in half lengthways and score with a knife.
- Sprinkle with salt and leave to rest for around half an hour. This will get rid of some of the extra liquid from the aubergines.* Once ready squeeze lightly to get rid of excess water and blot with a paper towel.
- Lightly brush with olive oil and place on a baking tray, flesh-side down, for 30-40 minutes- till the flesh is starting to brown and wrinkle.
- Prepare your sweet potato by peeling and chopping it. Place in a large pan with boiling water and simmer till tender.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables by finely slicing the leek and celery and peeling and chopping the carrot.
- Heat up a tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the vegetables for 5-10 minutes, till beginning to soften.
- Add the lentils, stock and peas to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
- season and add the tomato puree, then stir to thoroughly mix. I like to add a dash of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat - but this is optional.
- Reduce to a simmer for around 15 minutes, till the lentils are cooked and the majority of the liquid has been soaked up.
- When the potatoes are ready, season, add a dollop of your favourite plant-based butter and mash till smooth and creamy. **
- When the aubergines have cooked, remove them from the oven, scoop out some of their flesh and add it to the vegetable mixture.
- Spoon some filling into each aubergine half and top with potato and dairy-free cheese. Feel free to mix up which do and don't have a potato topping.
- Place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes, optionally you can grill them at the end for a couple of minutes, to brown the cheese.
- When serving, top with some optional parsley and lemon wedges. The lemon juice perfectly cut the sweetness of the sweet potato and is divine with aubergine.
Notes
* This is an optional step, but I've always done it this way and love the results.
** I know this is probably going to alarm some people but - I use a handheld blender to get perfectly smooth sweet potato mash. Blending, however, can make potato 'gummy' due to how the blades react with the starch molecules. But, oddly, I actually love the effect it has on potato so - don't judge me too much! You can use a potato masher or tool of your choice.
Note* For this recipe, I usually use 2 aubergine and then use the rest of the sheperds pie mixture to make a large 4-portion shepherds pie. Alternatively, you can use 4-5 aubergines. However, there will always be a little bit of extra mixture leftover.