Note: Start your garlic confit and mashed potates first. While they are cooking you can start the Lentil filling

How to make Lentil Shepherd’s pie filling

• Rinse the red lentils, add the lentils to the boiling water, and stir the bottom with a wooden spoon. There always seem to be a few lentils that like to stick to the bottom. Cook the lentils for 6 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water, and drain again. Set aside.
• Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, and add the extra virgin olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up before adding the onions.
• Add the diced onions to the hot oil, and cook the onions for 3 minutes.
• Continue cooking over medium-high heat, and add the mushrooms. Cooking until the mushrooms start to take on some color, roughly 3 minutes more of cooking.
• Add the diced carrots to the pot, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs.
• Add the tomato paste, cooking over low heat for 1 minute. Add ¼ cup sauce soy sauce. Cooking for 2 minutes.
• Add the molasses, Marmite, poultry seasoning, mushroom powder, and black vinegar. Stir to combine cooking over low heat for 3 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of quality Cabernet Sauvignon (red wine). Cook for 5 minutes allowing the liquid to reduce a little.
• Add the red lentils to the filling, and mix to combine.

For the slurry

• Whisk the flour and plant milk together.
• Pour the slurry into the filling, and stir to incorporate. Cook for 5 minutes, the filling should be very thick. Remove the heat and set it aside.

Building Shepherd’s pie

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Pour shepherd’s pie filling into a casserole dish. Using the back of a large spoon smooth the filling to create a level surface.
• Place small piles of the garlic confit mashed potatoes on top of the shepherd’s pie filling.
• Using an offset spatula to smooth the garlic confit mashed potatoes, spread the mixture to the edge of the casserole dish.
• Using a fork score the garlic confit mashed potatoes, by pulling the fork across the potatoes. Drizzle some of the garlic confit oil on top of the potatoes.
• Cook for 40-45 minutes. The shepherd’s pie should be golden brown in color, with little pockets of the shepherd’s pie filling bubbling up along the edges.
• Allow the shepherd’s pie to rest for 20 minutes before serving.