Lentil Pie with Puffy Cheese Sauce
Introduction
This vegetable pie has a base of lentils. It’s inexpensive and has heaps of flavour. The puffy cheese sauce is similar to what you will find on a traditional moussaka.
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
Cheese sauce
45g (3 Tbsp) butter
4 level Tbsp standard flour
400ml (about 14 fl oz) milk
Salt
Freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground white pepper
¾ cup grated vintage cheddar cheese
1 medium (size 6) free-range egg
Vegetable base
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp chopped rosemary
¼ tsp fennel seed
½ tsp ground cumin
350g (3) carrots, peeled and grated
350g (3) zucchini trimmed and grated
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp standard flour
1 x 400g can lentils, drained
1 Tbsp tomato concentrate (UK tomato puree
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 x 400g can cherry tomatoes in sauce (Mutti band)
Method
1 For the cheese sauce, gently melt butter in a small saucepan, remove pan from the heat and stir in flour, then blend in one-third of the milk. Slowly blend in the rest of the milk. Set pan over medium heat and whisk until bubbling. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then remove pan from heat and whisk in ½ a teaspoon of salt, a good grating of nutmeg, white pepper to taste and grated cheddar. Cover sauce with a lid and leave until cool.
2 Put oil in a medium-large frying pan (skillet), add onion and cook gently for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and cumin. Mix in carrot and zucchini and season with 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 12-15 minutes, until wilted and nearly tender, stirring two-three times. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
3 Increase heat and continue cooking, stirring often, until moisture is driven off. Remove pan from heat and stir in flour, then lentils. Mix tomato concentrate and red wine vinegar and stir in. Taste and adjust seasoning. Finally, stir through tomatoes. Pile mixture into an ovenproof dish (24cm diameter x 5cm deep / 9” x 2”).
4 Beat egg into cheese sauce and spoon over top of vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Cool the pie for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Make small steam holes in the vegetables to encourage steam to evaporate.
No white pepper? Use black!
Canned lentils are a handy stand-by in the pantry. They are cheap enough, but if you cook your own, they’re cheaper still. Look for cherry tomatoes in a thick tomato sauce. I recommend the Italian Mutti brand. Add them at the end so the tomatoes stay intact.
You can sub other vegetables, but watch the overall sweetness – the splash of vinegar in this dish keeps everything balanced and adds a bright note.
