There is a picture of a vegetarian cottage pie in one of Delia Smith’s recipe books that I’ve been drooling over for years, and this recipe is my attempt at recreating it. The idea of whipping goat’s cheese into mashed potato is completely hers, but the veggie mince recipe is an old favourite of mine –  and doesn’t involve food processors, tomato-skinning, or hours of lentil-soaking. (We love you, Delia, but it looks like you’ve got a lot of time on your hands.)

It’s comfort food at its best: cheesy crust, soft oozy mash, and tangy, garlicky mince. Yum! As usual, you can really use whatever veggies you have at hand: red peppers, peas or extra chickpeas are possible winners. Don’t skip the lentils though: they disintegrate completely, meaning that (a) sniffy eaters can’t spot them and (b) your mince-mix is thickened.

Veggie cottage pie with cheese-whipped mash

Ingredients

Serves 6

1.5 kgs of potatoes  (about 7 large ones)

100g chevin

2 tablespoons of butter

Two red onions, diced

2 tablespoons of garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 can of chopped tomato

1 can of mixed beans

1 punnet of button mushrooms, sliced

250 grams green beans

4-5 large carrots, grated

50g soya mince (I’m partial to Imana myself, but any brand should do)

250 grams red lentils

1 cup of wine

Half a packet of soya

A handful or two of grated cheese

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes and put them on to boil.

2. Dice onions and fry in olive oil on medium heat until tender and translucent, then add garlic and fry for a few minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and carrots, and let them cook down for about 5 minutes before adding the tomato paste.

4. Add the can of chopped tomato, lentils and wine, top up with a little water, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

5. In the meanwhile, if your potatoes are fully cooked, drain them and mash. Then, when still warm, whisk the goat’s cheese and butter through the mash. Resist the urge to eat it all on the spot.

6. Add the soya mince, bean mix and green beans to your tomato mix. From here you have to be a little more diligent, because soya mince desperately wants to burn at the bottom of the pot. Add a little more water (or wine) if you need to, and give it a good stir every few minutes.

7. The soya mince should cook within 10-15 minutes, at which point you can move it into a casserole dish, cover with a layer of mash, and sprinkle with some grated cheese if you enjoy perfection.

8. Seeing as everything’s already cooked, I don’t much see the point of baking a veggie pie for 20 minutes; rather, simply grill it for a few minutes to brown the cheese (keeping a sharp eye on it) and enjoy!