A heart-warming and health-giving pie that, thanks to the mushrooms, supports immunity and counters the inflammation that promotes ageing.
SERVES 2
Ingredients
20g (¾oz) dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra
2 echalion or banana shallots, cut in wedges
2 garlic cloves, sliced
300g (10oz) mixed mushrooms (such as forestière, shiitake, or oyster)
400g (14oz) can green lentils, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp, chopped tarragon leaves
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, ground
100g (3½oz) low-fat Greek yogurt
1 medium potato (190g/6¾oz), scrubbed
50g (2oz) rocket leaves, to serve
1 Soak the porcini mushrooms in 150ml (7fl oz) of hot water for 15–20 minutes until softened. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).
2 Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the shallots for 4–5 minutes till soft then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
3 When the porcini mushrooms have rehydrated, remove them from their liquid, setting aside the soaking water. Thickly slice the porcini and the other mushrooms and add them to the pan. Lower the heat and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4 Strain the porcini’s soaking water, and pour it into the pan along with the lentils, tarragon, and Szechuan pepper. Stir and cook for 2–3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt. Transfer the mushroom mixture to an ovenproof dish (20cm/8in).
5 Slice the potato very thinly (about 3mm/1/8in) and arrange the slices over the mushrooms, overlapping the edges of potato and filling the gaps, so that the pie doesn’t dry out in the oven.
6 Use a pastry brush to coat the potato topping with the remaining oil. Then put the dish in the oven for 20–25 minutes until the potato is cooked and starting to crisp. Serve with rocket.
NUTRITION PER SERVING Calories 438 Total fat 18.6g Saturated fat 2.9g Carbohydrates 51.2g Dietary fibre 10.3g Sugars 6.7g Protein 19.5g Salt 0.3g
Smart swaps
• Swap the lentils for kidney beans to get extra fibre and calcium. Canned kidney beans contain 39 per cent more heart-friendly fibre and three times more bone-building calcium than canned lentils.
• Replace the tarragon with diced red chilli if you want to lose weight and like it spicy. Capsaicin, the compound in chilli that gives it its heat, has been found to help us burn more calories.
NUTRIENT KNOW-HOW
Mushrooms contain ergosterol, which is converted into vitamin D2 by UV light. Wild mushrooms grow in woodlands and are exposed to UV light, so they contain more ergosterol than mushrooms grown in the dark.