Sweet Potato & Lentil Sherperd’s Pie

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I’ve seen recipes for lentil & sweet potato “Shepherd’s Pie” going around for quite some time, yet never bothered trying it…. I admit, it did not sound appealing, and I assumed it would come out rather “blah”. Well, seeing as I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, I gave it a go and modified the recipe a little. How wrong I was! It was great and the whole family loved it (a very rare event indeed!).

Ingredients:

Topping:
– 3 large sweet potatoes
– 2 Tbsp olive oil
– 1/4 cup milk
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– Salt & pepper
– Seasoned bread crumbs (optional, for topping)

Lentil mix:
– 2 cans lentils, drained and rinsed
– 1 Tbsp canola/ avocado oil
– 1 onion, chopped
– 3 stalks celery, minced
– 2 carrots, grated
– 1 cup mushrooms, minced
– 1/2 tsp rosemary
– 1/2 tsp thyme
– 2 Tbsp onion soup mix, diluted in a little water
– 1 large can corn, drained and rinsed (middle layer)

Directions:
1- Peel and dice sweet potato. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until soft.
2- Drain potatoes and mash with oil, milk, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Set aside.
3- Sauté onion in oil and add mushrooms, carrots and celery. Stir until veggies softened. Add lentils, seasonings and onion soup mixture. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
4- Arrange lentil mixture in casserole dish. Cover with layer of corn and top with mashed sweet potato. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
5- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!