Monster Mash Pie @ gavinunderhill.co.uk

This is my one and only contribution to the world of cuisine. As a non-meat-eater, I use “meat-free” mince (nowadays easily available from larger supermarkets), but carnivores can use the slaughtered variety…

INGREDIENTS (all measures are approximate):

12 oz short-crust pastry

2 oz orange split lentils

1 medium-to-large red onion or equivalent shallots (finely chopped)

6 oz mushrooms (coarsely-chopped)

6 oz (meat free) mince

Stock (mix the following with 6 fl oz of water in a saucepan and simmer until required: 1 tbsp tomato puree/1 tbsp garlic puree/2 tsp gravy powder/2 tsp "buillon" powder/half tsp marmite/3 tsp mixed herbs)

1.5 lb King Edward potatoes (peeled and diced)

1 lb sweet potato (peeled and diced)

Tin of chickpeas

4 oz grated (or crumbled) cheese

Milk

Margarine

Parsley

Selection of vegetables

Gravy

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil the lentils on a hob until soft. Whilst doing this, roll out the pastry (make your own or buy ready-made, now easily available in supermarkets). Line pastry in large shallow cooking dish, and place in pre-heated oven (gas mark 8 or equivalent) for approx 10-15 minutes.

Pan-fry onions, mushrooms and veggie mince in oil (in this order, but meat-eaters should fry their mince first), then mix in the boiled (and rinsed) lentils plus the stock, and heat a while longer until the mix is neither too stodgy or too runny. Remove pastry dish from oven and fill mix to rim (if it doesn’t all fit in, then keep the rest to reheat later and add to plates before serving). Then put dish back in oven on a lower heat (approx gas mark 5 or equivalent).

Boil chickpeas and all the potatoes in the same pot until soft. Remove, rinse, and then replace in (rinsed) pot. Add the cheese, a sprinkle of parsley, a dollop of margarine, and a splash of milk, and mash thoroughly. Remove dish from oven, and heap the mash on top of the pie filling (use a fork or similar implement to evenly spread the mash). Re-place dish in oven until crust is browned (usually around 15 minutes).

Prepare vegetables to your liking, and gravy likewise (I use granules). Remove pie from the oven when ready (if crust has not browned quickly enough, take a short cut by sticking the pie under the grill for a 2-3 minutes). Slice and serve with the vegetables and gravy (in a gravy boat or similar).

This dish usually takes about an hour to make…but whenever I do it’s always eaten up and not wasted so it's worth it - yum.