Hearty winter dishes: rich lentil cottage pie

Name: Hearty winter dishes: rich lentil cottage pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: En
Ingredients: A glug of olive oil; 2-3 celery stalks; 2 large carrots; 2 garlic cloves; 1/2 cup chopped semi sun-dried tomatoes; 1 tin chopped Italian tomatoes; 1 tbs tomato paste; 1 tsp sugar; 1 bay leaf; few sprigs of fresh thyme; 1 cup vegetable stock; 2 x 400 g tins brown lentils

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Main Dish

Very Easy

45 min

Preparation

Preparation20 min

Cook time25 min

Preheat oven to 200C.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook onion for a couple of minutes, before adding the garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes but be careful to ensure garlic does not burn.
Add the celery and carrots and stir for a minute to coat in the oil and garlic, then add all remaining filling ingredients except the lentils. Allow to simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the veggies have softened.
Stir through the lentils and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the filling to an appropriately sized deep baking dish.
Meanwhile, cover potatoes in cold, salted water and bring to the boil, allowing to continue boiling until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and mash them in the saucepan.
Stir in the butter, milk, egg yolks and cheese. Spread over the filling and drag a fork over the potatoes to roughen them a bit - the rough parts will get crispy in the oven.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes in the preheated oven until bubbling and the potato is golden.