Lentil-Barley Shepherd's Pie

JeriBinNC's Note:

This is absolutely delicious! The herbes de Provence are essential to its wonderful flavor. Try Herbes De Provence if you don't have any on hand. From fatfree.com.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 cups water
• ½ cup lentils , uncooked
• ¼ cup barley , uncooked
• 1 large carrot , diced
• 1 medium onion , finely chopped
• 1 cup canned tomato , diced
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 teaspoon herbes de provence
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• salt and pepper
• 3 medium potatoes

Directions:

1. Cut potatoes into chunks (peel if you like) and boil until soft. Mash and set aside.
2. Place 1 1/4 cups water in saucepan with lentils and barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3/4 cups water in a saucepan.
4. Add carrots, onion, and garlic and cook until tender. Add tomatoes and spices.
5. Mix the flour with a little water and add to saucepan. Stir and cook over low heat until thickened.
6. Mix vegetable mixture with cooked lentils and barley. Pour into casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Reviews

[Food Snob in Israel]

Wasn't a WOW for me at all. Beautiful presentation, but short on the, well, MEAT. Now, I am vegetarian, so that is saying a LOT. I just felt that it was a shepherd's pie without the meat. I wanted to replace with even MORE barley and lentils to bump up the flavor and texture. Wasn't hearty enough, these herbes de provence were certainly NOT essential (I feel like I wasted my money and time to buy them espically for this dish) and if it weren't for the lovely presentation, it really would have just been like watered down pasta sauce with potatoes. Not too appitizing. Use the presentation but make your own filling.

[Saturn]

I loved this! A great vegetarian low fat meal! My picky family even managed to enjoy it! Although my sons put ranch dressing, bacon bits (soy) and Parmesan cheese on theirs! Whatever it takes. I enjoyed it just as it is. I ended up omitting the carrot as I am out of them. Instead, I threw in a cup of frozen corn kernels. I loved it! Thanks for posting!

[Serah B.]

I liked the flavor (I'd never tried Herbes De Provence before, and am happy about the newest addition to my pantry), and was very pleased with how well the lentils and barley kept a nice, firm texture. I had a little trouble doing the potato topping -- the mashed potatoes were somewhat denser than the lentil/barley mixture and sort of sank...but I cheated and used my fingers to spread them around and it ended up working out just fine. Even the meat eaters of the family liked this, and no one accused me of cooking weird hippie food (...cuz if it ain't steak)! That's always a very good sign.