Fifteen ingredients and under an hour, using a saucepan and a pot side by side.
There is no meat in this bowl, and no pastry or baked topping either. The potatoes are mashed smooth and spooned next to the stew, so both stay distinct.
Two Pans, One Bowl, No Baking
THE MASHED POTATO SITS BESIDE THE STEW RATHER THAN BEING BAKED ON TOP. So the two halves are cooked in parallel and meet only in the bowl - there is no oven step at any point.
The potato pot
- Until tender
1 1/2 lb YUKON GOLD POTATOES, PEELED AND CUBED, COVERED WITH SALTED WATER and SIMMERED UNTIL TENDER.
- Off the heat
DRAINED and MASHED WITH 3 tbsp BUTTER and 1/3 cup WARM MILK UNTIL SMOOTH. Warm milk is what makes it velvety enough to hold a swirl shape.
The stew saucepan
- 5 minutes
1 tbsp OLIVE OIL with 1 small diced ONION, 2 diced CARROTS and 1 diced GREEN BELL PEPPER - the vegetables visible through the stew.
- Briefly
2 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES, 1 tbsp TOMATO PASTE, 1 tsp DRIED THYME and 1/2 tsp SMOKED PAPRIKA. This is where a meatless stew gets its colour.
- 25 to 30 minutes
1 cup RINSED BROWN OR GREEN LENTILS and 3 cups LOW-SODIUM VEGETABLE BROTH SIMMERED UNTIL THE LENTILS ARE TENDER AND THE LIQUID HAS REDUCED TO A THICK STEW, then seasoned with 1/2 tsp SALT and BLACK PEPPER.
In the bowl
The stew SPOONED INTO BOWLS with A LARGE SWIRL OF MASHED POTATO BESIDE IT, finished with BLACK PEPPER AND FRESH THYME. The same rule holds through both tracks: USE BROWN OR GREEN LENTILS AND KEEP THE DISH MEATLESS.
Why This Recipe Works
- Warm milk and butter beaten into hot potatoes give a mash that stays velvety rather than gluey.
- Softening the onion, carrot and pepper first builds a base a meatless stew needs.
- Tomato paste cooked briefly with the spices deepens the colour of the finished sauce.
- Twenty-five to thirty minutes is enough for brown or green lentils to hold their shape.
- Reducing the broth down thickens the stew so it sits beside the mash without flooding it.
How to Make It
Potatoes simmered, then mashed with butter and warm milk
Cover the potatoes with salted water, simmer until tender, then drain and mash with the butter and warm milk until smooth.
Onion, carrot and pepper 5 minutes, then paste and spices
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, carrot and green pepper 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, thyme and smoked paprika.
Lentils and broth simmered down to a thick stew
Add the lentils and vegetable broth. Simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick stew.
Stew seasoned with salt and black pepper
Season the stew with the salt and black pepper.
Stew in bowls with a swirl of mash beside it
Spoon the lentil stew into bowls and place a large swirl of mashed potato beside it. Finish with black pepper and fresh thyme.
Ingredient Notes
- Brown or green lentils
- One cup, rinsed. Brown or green lentils hold their shape through a half-hour simmer.
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- A pound and a half, peeled and cubed. Their yellow colour is the mash in the photograph.
- Tomato paste, thyme and smoked paprika
- A tablespoon and half-teaspoons. Together they give a meatless stew its dark savoury depth.
- Butter and warm milk
- Three tablespoons with a third of a cup. Warm, not cold, is what keeps the mash smooth.
Success Tips
- Start the potatoes first; they and the lentils then finish at about the same time.
- Warm the milk before it goes in - cold milk tightens hot potato.
- Let the stew reduce properly, so the two halves of the bowl keep their edges.
Serving Ideas
Four bowls, each with thick lentil stew on one side and a large swirl of smooth yellow mashed potato on the other, finished with black pepper and fresh thyme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any meat in this?
No. It is meatless, and the depth comes from tomato paste, thyme and smoked paprika.
Is this a shepherd's pie?
No. The mash is spooned beside the stew rather than spread over it and baked.
Which lentils should I use?
Brown or green. Red lentils would collapse into the sauce instead of staying whole.
