Vegan Lentil Pie

May 04, 2020by Justine - F&F
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cooking food ingredients method plant-based recipe vegetable vegetarian

If there's something we look forward to in the fast approaching colder months, it's comfort food like Christine's Vegan Lentil Pie.

Christine was one of our F&F Recipe Competition winners and is a mother of two daughters; one vegetarian and one vegan. She's spent lots of time perfecting and adapting her family's favourite meals to plant-based versions.

We've asked Christine a few questions about cooking vegan, why she and her daughters switched to eating more plants and what her favourite products are at F&F. Have a read and get to know Christine! 

 

Interview with Christine

How long have you been baking and cooking for and what is your advice to people that are just getting started? 

I started cooking when I was 12 (38 years ago), and I began cooking for vegetarians for 15 years roughly. I advice you to do your homework on meeting nutritional needs of children if vegetarian or vegan, as I have learned through experience plant-based diets can be harder to make appetising and still get enough vitamins and minerals. I mainly get my inspiration from my children and their food preferences, also old recipe books, e.g. my nanas, where I substitute meat for lentils, beans or chickpeas.
 

What is your favourite meal ever? 

My favourite meal would certainly be lasagne and potato bake.

How long have you been shopping at F&F and what are your favourite products? 

Since November 2019, when my youngest daughter discovered your amazing site and we have searched most of your products and created a Wishlist of over 40 things! That’s so hard to choose but, the Preserve Recycled Toothbrush, Ere Perez eighty-four nutritive base, and the JuJu cloth pads would probably be my top. The products I’ve ordered using the voucher could definitely become favourites, such as the makeup!

What were your daughters' reasons for going vegan & vegetarian? 

My second eldest daughter became a vegetarian when she was quite young (now she is 23), as she hated animals dying for meat. My youngest daughter initially became a vegetarian, (because of the process animals go through) after struggling for years trying to, finally opened up her plant-based food to be able to remain healthy. She is now vegan as she has been educated to the plight of dairy calves. I became a vegetarian for similar reasons to my vegan/vegetarian daughters and I’ve been vegetarian for roughly a year. As my son eats meat, I cater for vegetarian, vegan and non-vegetarian. When I was eating meat whilst my daughters were vegetarian, I researched about how to ensure my daughters' nutritional needs were still met, I have adapted traditional meat-based recipes to plant-based, e.g. lasagne and stroganoff.
 

 What do your family and friends think of your recipes? Can they tell they are vegan?

 Generally, they love my recipes, most of the time they can’t tell it’s vegan!

I created this recipe for my vegan and vegetarian daughters. I am a vegetarian, but try to cook mostly vegan recipes. I also wanted something non-vegetarians would enjoy, and this pie does the trick! I was unable to find a vegan pie recipe with the ingredients I wanted to use, so invented this one.

Vegan Vegetable & Lentil Pie

Serves approx 6

Ingredients

  • 1  large carrot (diced)
  • 1 large zucchini (diced)
  • 3 small mushrooms (diced)
  • 2 vegetable stock cubes (dissolved in 1-2 tablespoons of water)
  • 1 tin lentils (drained/rinsed)
  • 1 tin diced tomatoes
  • 1 sachet tomato paste
  • 4 large potatoes(peeled & quartered) 
  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 2 tablespoons cornflake crumbs
  • 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon broccoli powder
  • 2 cloves garlic (diced)
  • 6-8 fresh mint leaves (chopped)
  • Vegan butter and almond milk (for potato)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 170° (fan-forced). Dissolve stock cubes.
  2. Cover potatoes with water, boil for approx 10 minutes. Grease pie dish to lay the pastry on.
  3. Cook zucchini and carrot with a dash of water in the microwave for 3 minutes. 
  4. Heat fry pan on medium heat, melt a tablespoon of vegan butter.
  5. Add garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, carrot, mint, stock cube mixture and broccoli powder. Cook 5 minutes.
  6. Drain potatoes and mash with 2 tbsp of vegan butter and 4 tbsp almond milk. 
  7. Add tomatoes, paste, and lentils to the vegetables and cook another 5 minutes.
  8. Tip vegetable mix into the pie dish and carefully spread mashed potato over vegetable mix. Sprinkle cornflake crumbs and nutritional yeast over potato.
  9. Cook for 35 minutes, check at 25 minutes.

We hope you enjoy this delicious lentil pies on a cold night with some good company! 

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