Café Pistou’s Provençal Shepherd’s pie
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- A little effort
- Serves 4
Skip to ingredients
- 1 onionpeeled and cut into chunks
- 4 cloves garlicpeeled and sliced
- 1 red peppercut into chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 strips orange peel
- 6-8 large chopped tomatoesor 1 tin
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- auberginecut into chunks
- 125g cooked puy lentils(1/2 pouch of merchant gourmet)
- 8 tbsp vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp of finely chopped dried figs
- 150g fetacrumbled
- chopped to make 4 tbsp basil
- smoked paprika
Topping
- 400g chickpeastin, keeping the liquid
- 1 clove garlicpeeled and sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6-8 tbsp whole milk
- 4 sheets brique or filo pastry
Method
step 1
To make the ratatouille add the onion, garlic, pepper, olive oil, orange peel and 2 tbsp water to a shallow, medium sized pan with a lid on a medium heat. Add half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of sugar.
step 2
Cover and sweat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and smell sweet.
step 3
Heat a large frying pan with 3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Add the chunks of aubergine in a single layer and fry for 4-5 minutes until gently browned. Season and transfer to a plate.
step 4
Add the aubergines to the onion and pepper mixture. Add the tinned tomatoes with their juice. Bring to the boil. Lower the heat to medium/low.
step 5
Cover the ratatouille with greaseproof paper. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are meltingly soft. Lift the paper and stir from time to time to make sure the ratatouille doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove the paper and discard the orange peel. Add the lentils, vegetable stock, dried figs, feta and sliced basil. Season with salt, sugar to balance the tomatoes’ acidity and smoked paprika.
step 6
To make the chickpea purée, put the chickpeas, their liquid, garlic and 3 tbsp of olive oil in a small pan. Put the pan onto a high heat and bring to the boil. Boil until all but about 6 tbsp of liquid remains. Add the milk, bring back to the boil. Tip into a food processor. Blend until the purée is smooth. If the purée is too thick, add more milk 1 tbsp at a time. You should finish with approximately 400g.
step 7
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
step 8
Spread the ratatouille mixture into 4 small ovenproof dishes. Spoon the chickpea purée into the centre of each then use a spatula to smooth it to the edges. Don’t push too hard, but don’t worry if the purée sinks into the lentils a little.
step 9
To make the topping, put the brique pastry sheets onto your worktop. Sprinkle them with smoked paprika. Brush them all over with olive oil. Scrunch the pastry up into the size of the dishes. Try and keep as much of the pastry as possible off the chickpea purée’s surface. Bake for 12-15 minutes until hot and golden.
THIS RECIPE HASN’T BEEN TESTED IN THE OLIVE KITCHEN
