Cauli Cottage Pie

The snowy view from our village in North Yorkshire this week!

When you are looking for a warming, winter treat then this Cauli Cottage Pie, with a savoury cauliflower topping and savoury lentil filling is a total winner!

If, like us here in rural North Yorkshire, you've been hit by a cold snap recently you'll know the need

for warming comfort food is very real! For some reason my appetite goes through the roof when the snow starts to fall, and it can be all the harder to make healthy choices, when all around you are turning to hot chocolate and cake.

This tasty dish will suit all the family and is ideal served with lots of steamed veggies and, if you wish some extra gravy. There is plenty of iron from the lentils, vitamins from the vegetables, protein in the egg topping and even an extra boost of your B-vitamins, thanks to the inclusion of Marmite. I've made a two-portion version here, but you could easily double the quantities here to serve a bigger group.

This does feature Henderson's Relish - a big favourite of mine, which is effectively a great vegetarian and vegan alternative to worcestershire sauce. It adds a tasty tang to the dish and is also lovely over poached eggs, added to tomato sauces and particularly in a Bloody Mary! It can be hard to find outside of Yorkshire, but many health food shops stock it and it is available online too.

Make it vegan! If you want to make this vegan-friendly, simply leave out the egg from the topping and perhaps make a little more cauli-topping to allow a really thick layer, which will stick together more effectively.

As with all recipes and meal plans on the blog I have highlighted the protein sources (P foods) in red, the speed (S) foods in green, healthy extra allowances in blue and syns, with syn values in brackets in orange.

Cauli Cottage Pie

Serves 2 - syn free 

100g green lentils

1 red onion, finely chopped

5 closed cup mushrooms, finely chopped

1 tsp Henderson's Relish 

2 tsp vegetable boullion powder / stock cube

2 1 tsp Marmite / yeast extract spread

1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into small florets

1 egg, beaten 

Spray oil 

Pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees fan / 200 degrees / Gas Mark 4.

Tip the lentils into a pan and then add double their volume in cold water. 

Add in the onions and mushrooms, boullion powder, marmite and Henderson's Relish and bring to the boil. Then turn down to simmer for 20 - 25 minutes. 

In a food processor, blitz the cauliflower into fine couscous-like pieces (or buy it as Cauliflower Couscous!) 

Microwave the blitzed cauliflower for 3 minutes, stir and check it has softened. 

Then tip the cooked cauliflower into a clean, doubled up tea towel and (wearing rubber gloves if needed) gently squeeze the mixture to remove the liquid from the cauliflower. 

Check on the lentils and make sure they are softening and that the liquid is reducing down, but not boiling dry. If they are sticking to the bottom of the pan add water - a tsp at a time, until they are moving again. 

Tip the cauliflower into a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork, add an egg, salt and pepper and beat into a thick mixture. 

Once the lentils are fully softened, check the liquid in the pan. It should have reduced down to just a coating of the lentils, but if it is very runny, spoon off some of the liquid and turn up to a high heat to boil it off further. 

Don't be tempted to add salt at this stage - the Marmite has salt in it and the topping has salt added to it so it may become a bit too much if added here. 

Once the lentils are just coated in the liquid, tip into an ovenproof dish and gently spoon the cauliflower mixture over the top and spray liberally with spray oil to ensure a nicely browned top. 

Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes - checking to ensure it isn't catching too much (although a few little chunks of caramelised topping, as above, really adds to the taste). 

Serve with steamed or roast vegetables.