Sweet Potato & Lentil Sherperd’s Pie

I’ve seen recipes for lentil & sweet potato “Shepherd’s Pie” going around for quite some time, yet never bothered trying it…. I admit, it did not sound appealing, and I assumed it would come out rather “blah”. Well, seeing as I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, I gave it a go and modified the recipe a little. How wrong I was! It was great and the whole family loved it (a very rare event indeed!).

Ingredients

• Topping
• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt & pepper
• Seasoned bread crumbs (optional, for topping)
• Lentil mix
• 2 cans lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp canola/ avocado oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, minced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 cup mushrooms, minced
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 Tbsp onion soup mix, diluted in a little water
• 1 large can corn, drained and rinsed (middle layer)

Directions

1. Peel and dice sweet potato. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until soft.
2. Drain potatoes and mash with oil, milk, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Set aside.
3. Sauté onion in oil and add mushrooms, carrots and celery. Stir until veggies softened. Add lentils, seasonings and onion soup mixture. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Arrange lentil mixture in casserole dish. Cover with layer of corn and top with mashed sweet potato. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!