Easy, delicious and full of fab ingredients, this Lentil Shepherd’s Pie is comfort food at its finest…and the perfect way to celebrate organic food!
What kind of food makes you happy? For me, I would say it’s proper comfort food – which is one of the reasons why this time of year is my favourite. After months of eating salads and cold food, I finally feel I can indulge in all my favourites again: stews, curries, tagines, mac n cheese…and comforting pies topped with wodges of creamy mashed potatoes or crisp puff pastry. Want to indulge with me…check out my all new collection of Easy Peasy Comfort Food – all delicious, warming and comforting recipes, but just as easy peasy as you’d expect from me!
But it’s not just the type of food that makes me happy, it’s just as much about the ingredients I use and the people I share it with too.
It makes me happy to spend time in the kitchen each evening knowing I am going to be sharing it with my lovely little family and it makes me happy creating big feasts at the weekend to share with friends too.
And when it comes to ingredients, it makes me happy to use the very best I can afford for my family. I try to cook from scratch most days, as then I know exactly what is going into my food, and I always try to buy the best quality ingredients that we can afford.
I nearly always buy organic dairy and meat as I want to be sure that the animals have been looked after in a kind and responsible way and, though I don’t buy organic veg quite as often, I am always reminded why I should when I taste them…they taste so much better than their non-organic counterparts. And as a total foodie a heart, good tasting food makes me very happy indeed! It also gives me peace of mind to know that there are fewer pesticides, no artificial colours and preservatives and no GM ingredients in organic food. And that organic animals are always free range and farmers have to adhere to a strict code of ethics, including no routine use of antibiotics.
As you are probably aware, September is #OrganicSeptember, a time to celebrate the wonderfulness of organic food. This year I have joined up with Organic UK to help promote their ‘Organic. Feed Your Happy’ Campaign. They would love you to share food that makes you happy on social media using the hashtag #FeedYourHappy.
Sara Cox, one of the UK’s most loved BBC presenters, is the ambassador of the ‘Organic. Feed Your Happy’ Campaign. Sara will also be sharing her happy food stories in a selection of short films. You can find out more about the campaign and organic food on the Organic. Feed Your Happy Website.
To celebrate #OrganicSeptember and the #FeedYourHappy Campaign I am sharing my recipe for Lentil Shepherd’s Pie…this really is the kind of comfort food I love to share with my family and which really makes me very happy indeed. It is also the kind of dish that really shows off shows off organic food to the max. I’ve used lovely organic milk, butter and a splash of cream from Yeo Valley in the mash. For the filling I’ve used organic veg, lentils, and for an extra touch of umami loveliness, some Clearspring Organic Tamari – which adds extra richness and depth to this delicious vegetarian shepherd’s pie.
I also have two, yes TWO boxes of fab organic Clearspring goodies to giveaway to two of my lucky readers to help #FeedYourHappy! You will find all the details of how to enter at the bottom of this post – good luck!! And don’t forget to share your images of the food that makes you happy on social media using the hashtag #FeedYourHappy. [Sorry, giveaway now closed.]
