I do love a good Shepherd's Pie. It is always so comforting. It was one of my favourite dishes in my primary school, and I'd always hope for the corner portion which has the yummy slightly burnt edges.
With all the research out there at the moment, we know that everyone should consume less meat from an environmental sustainability perspective alone. Personally this is easier said than done, as I am on a high protein diet, and no matter what people say, there are only so many chickpeas and lentils that a person can eat - and still not reach the protein target! But then I found Meatless Farm's mince at the supermarket, which is 21.1g protein for just 199 calories, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did - this veggie mince shepherds pie that I made tasted just like the real thing. The sweet potato mash lowered the carbs on the dish too.
Double win!
Ingredients
Serves | 4-6 (as a side dish)
1kg Maris Piper potatoes
Vegetable stock pot (or 1 tsp vegetable bouillon)
Approx. 3 tbsp olive oil
1 bulb of garlic
Optional: couple of sprigs of rosemary and/or thyme
Optional: 1 tbsp of truffle oil
Method
Peel the potatoes.
Roughly cut the potatoes. I like as many 'awkward' edges as possible to get the extra crispy bits on every potato. (When I'm calorie counting, I get every cut potato to weigh 25-35g each - it takes some practice at first, but soon you'll be able to gauge it by eye.)
Boil a saucepan of water and add the potatoes. Ensure there is enough water to cover the potatoes.
Add the vegetable stock, and parboil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Peel the garlic bulb. You want to remove all of the outer skin of the garlic, except for the final layer - so as to leave a little 'jacket' for your garlic clove.
Depending on the size of your vessel, drizzle 1-2 tbsp of olive oil into a baking tray / oven proof dish. Pop into the oven to warm the oil for 5 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, and scatter them into the oven dish.
Dot the garlic amongst the potatoes. Coat the potatoes with the remaining olive oil.
If you're using rosemary or thyme sprigs, gently rub the potatoes with the sprigs to impart some of the flavour before placing the sprigs in the dish.
Return the dish to the oven for 45 minutes.
For extra crispy potatoes, halfway through cooking, take a potato masher or fish fry and gently press down on the potatoes. It will cause them to crack a little, allowing more surface area for crispy goodness!
If you're using truffle oil, drizzle the oil over the potatoes 10 minutes before finish.
Bon appetit!
Tip: Use a fork to create a pattern in your mash - the more edgings created from the fork will allow for crispy edges .
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