andrew's Reviews
2 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 2Sort by: Title | Date | Rating 
Fresh: Seasonal Recipes Made with Local Ingredients
By John Bishop
Douglas & McIntyre - 2007
Lentil Shepherd's Pie : page 144
There are lots of vegetarian shepherd's pie recipes out there, usually with some form of the same ingredients to make up for the ground or leftover meat in the omnivore version: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, carrots etc. The Moosewood Cookbook has a classic, for example.
John Bishop's recipe (his sister's actually, though I imagine he's tweaked it), follows along these lines, but the spicing and preparation take it up to another level. The notes contributed by the use of balsamic vinegar, lemon zest and honey as well as the spicing and the lentils (we used du puy as we were out of regular brown) combine to produce a lovely umami experience, tangy and a little tart. Then it's all mellowed by creamy mashed potatoes (we didn't have rutabaga, but the yukon golds we used were perfect).
The only warning I'd add is that this takes quite some time to prepare. The ingredients are simmered for 40 minutes before being put into the oven for another 40 minutes. WIth prep time it's easily two hours or a bit more. I cut a bit of time on the oven side with no ill-effects; the potatoes were not as brown as they might have been, but everything was properly cooked.
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Roasted Tomato Soup : page 79
This is a very adult tasting soup. What I mean is that it's not one of your sweet, kid-friendly soups. It takes a strong flavour note from the sherry (1/2 cup) and is really quite delicious. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars, but not quite 4. I think it's not quite something I'd make regularly for myself for sheer comfort, but it would be a nice one to serve at a fancy meal.
Didn't make the accompanying biscuits.
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