Lentil Shepherd's Pie (with bacon!)

I bought some bacon on sale yesterday and was debating what to do with it. Clearly the answer is to add it to a vegetarian version of shepherd's pie!

It was a good experiment.



You'll need:

• 3 slices bacon (I used thick cut; you'll need a couple more slices if it's thin)
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 1/4 c. lentils
• 2 c. water
• 1/4 c. red wine
• 1 c. frozen peas
  
• 5 large potatoes
• 1 6-0z. container plain yogurt

Not pictured: milk and nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese (optional).

First, peel and cut the potatoes and boil until soft. You don't really need a picture of that, do you?



Next, chop the carrots, onions, and garlic.



Cut the bacon into small strips and fry until cooked but not crispy.



Add the vegetables and cook until the onions start to get translucent.



Then stir in the tomato paste and spices.



Add the lentils, wine, and water; bring to a boil, then simmer until lentils are tender. (Add a little more water if you need to.)

When the lentils are cooked, stir in the peas and cook a few minutes until they're heated.

Meanwhile, mash the potatoes with the yogurt and a little milk. The yogurt was originally just because I had forgotten to buy butter, but it actually worked amazingly well, keeping the potatoes moist and delicious.



Pour the lentils in a pan, followed by the potatoes. I didn't have a pan of the right size, so I divided the mixture between two loaf pans. Top with nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese if you like, and bake for about half an hour at 375^o until the top is nice and browned.

I like a little gravy on my shepherd's pie, so I improvised a simple gravy to go with this recipe: whisk together 2 tbsp. flour, 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce, and 1 tbsp. tomato paste, then whisk in 1 c. water and add two large pinches of vegetable bouillon powder and cook until thickened.



It was yummy.