A warming vegetarian pie for winter from Anna Jones. You can replacer the cauliflower with potatoes if you like.
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp mustard seeds
- a handful curry leaves fresh if you can get them, about 20
- 2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds bashed
- 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely sliced
- 1 thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 x 400g tin of puy lentils drained, or 250g home-cooked lentils
- 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder or ½ a stock cube
- 2 dates I use medjool
- 1 red chilli deseeded and chopped
- 1 lemon
- flaky salt
- 2 leaves medium cauliflowers (about 1kg once leaves removed)
- 1 tbsp coconut or olive oil
Servings:
Instructions
- Get all your ingredients together. Fill and boil your kettle. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 .
- In a large, heavy pan, add a good glug of oil. Get it nice and hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, then cook for a couple of minutes until the mustard seeds pop.
- Take the pan off the heat, reserve half the seeds and leaves, then put the pan with the remaining mixture back on the heat. Add the carrots and onions to the pan and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until soft, sweet and nicely browned.
- Add the cumin, coriander, garlic and ginger, then cook for 3-4 minutes to toast the spices and allow the garlic and ginger to release their oils. Take care that the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add the drained lentils, tomatoes, stock and half a tin of hot water from the kettle. Roughly chop the dates and add to the pan with the chopped chilli and the zest of half the lemon.
- Season with salt and simmer on a medium heat for 25 minutes, or until thick, rich and flavourful.
- Meanwhile, make the cauliflower mash. Break the cauliflower into florets and slice the stalk (you can use this, too) and add the whole lot to a lidded pan with about 2cm of water in the bottom.
- Put on a high heat and steam until the cauliflower is tender – about 10 minutes. Drain well, then put back on the heat for a minute to dry the cauliflower out.
- Allow it to cool a little, then blitz in a food processor with the coconut oil and a big pinch of salt. When you have a silky smooth mash, fold in the reserved mustard seeds and curry leaves.
- When the lentils are ready, squeeze in the juice of the lemon and mix well. Spoon them into an ovenproof dish (about 20x25cm). Top with the cauliflower mash and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tips of the mash are golden and the lentils are bubbling.
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