Vegetarischer Parmentier mit Auberginen-Linsen-Bolognese (vegetarian shepherd's pie with eggplant and lentil bolognese)
A French-style parmentier with a savoury lentil and eggplant bolognese base topped with mashed potato, the eggplant diced small and browned hard in a hot pan before joining the lentils, since raw or merely softened eggplant adds bulk without any of the deep, meaty flavour a proper sear develops. Piping or forking texture into the mashed potato top before baking is what gives it the browned peaks and ridges that mark a properly finished parmentier.
Prep40 min
Cook60 min
Servings4
Christoph's parmentier with eggplant and lentil bolognese, the eggplant browned hard before joining the lentils for real depth.
Ingredients
Written for a 23 × 33 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
Bolognese
- 300 g eggplant, diced small rounded
- 40 ml olive oil, divided rounded
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 150 g carrot, diced rounded
- 2 garlic cloves rounded
- 250 g brown lentils rounded
- 500 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 400 g chopped tomatoes rounded
- 10 g dried oregano rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Mashed potato topping
- 1 kg floury potatoes, peeled, quartered rounded
- 150 ml milk, warmed rounded
- 70 g butter rounded
- 2 g grated nutmeg rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Heat half the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Sear the diced eggplant in a single layer for 6 to 8 minutes, until deeply browned. Remove to a bowl.
- Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic for 6 minutes, until softened.
- Add the lentils and broth. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid absorbed.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, oregano and the seared eggplant. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt.
- Meanwhile, cover the potatoes with cold salted water and simmer for 20 minutes, until fully tender. Drain and mash while hot, beating in the warm milk, butter, nutmeg and salt until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan). Spread the lentil-eggplant filling in a baking dish. Top with the mashed potato, spreading to the edges and roughing up the surface with a fork.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is browned and the filling bubbling at the edges.
Notes
- Sear the eggplant hard before adding it to the lentils. Raw or merely softened eggplant adds bulk without flavour; a proper hard sear develops a deep, meaty savouriness that carries through the whole filling.
- Rough up the mashed potato surface before baking. A smooth surface bakes evenly pale; peaks and ridges catch and brown, giving the crisp, textured top that marks a properly finished parmentier.
- Spread the potato all the way to the edges of the dish. This seals in the filling and stops it bubbling up over an exposed edge and burning.
- It keeps and reheats well for 3 days, and the flavour deepens overnight.
Ingredient substitutions
- Brown lentils can be swapped for green lentils; red lentils will turn to mush and aren’t suitable.
- Zucchini can join or replace some of the eggplant.
- A layer of grated cheese over the potato before baking adds a golden, savoury crust.
From Christoph Mayer