[oz-food] A Big Pie for a Winter's Day recipe

From: Vicki Taylor <vicki@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: oz-food@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2022 08:55:50 +1000

A Big Pie for a Winter's Day

Servings: 6

Description:

This good-natured, resolutely old-fashioned and earthy recipe will take whichever lentils and vegetables you have lying around. Use brown, yellow or green lentils in the filling; spinach or chard for the greens; and mashed potatoes, swede, sweet potatoes or parsnip for the crust.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

450 g onions (2, medium)

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

150 g carrots

1 stick celery

3 cloves garlic

3 bay leaves

6 bushy sprigs thyme

4 bushy sprigs parsley

500 g tomatoes

500 ml vegetable stock

350 g lentils, brown or green

350 g spinach

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

For the top:

1.5 kg parsnips

50 g butter

a few sprigs thyme

Directions:

Peel and roughly chop the onions, then cook them in the oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Cut the carrots and celery into fine dice, peel and finely chop the garlic, then add all to the softening onions and continue cooking for 10 minutes, until the onion is golden and translucent.

Add the bay leaves to the pan. Remove the leaves from the thyme and parsley, then stir into the vegetables.

Cut the tomatoes into small dice and stir into the vegetables, leaving them to simmer for a further 10 minutes until the tomatoes have released their juice. Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, season and leave the vegetables to putter away over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Check the liquid level from time to time: you want a decent amount of juice, so add some more hot stock if needed.

Meanwhile, cook the lentils in deep boiling water for 20 minutes, until they are just tender, then drain and add them to the vegetable sauce.

Peel the parsnips, then steam until tender. Mash with a vegetable masher or food mixer. Add the butter, salt and pepper and set aside.

Wash the spinach leaves and put them, still wet, into a pan over a moderate heat. Cover tightly with a lid and let them cook for 1-2 minutes until wilted. Remove the leaves, drain them and squeeze out most of the moisture.

Set the oven at 200°C.

Stir the spinach into the lentil sauce, then stir in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, taste and add more if necessary. It should add a mellow note to the sauce. Transfer to a deep baking dish, about 24 cm x 28 cm. Spoon the mashed parsnips on top, scatter the thyme sprigs over and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Source: A Cook’s Book by Nigel Slater

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[oz-food] A Big Pie for a Winter's Day recipe

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