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<p>As it's St Patrick's Day here in Ireland I thought I'd have fun with my cottage pie! &nbsp;As you can see the topping is the Irish flag, made with riced broccoli, 'champ', and riced carrot. &nbsp;Champ is a traditional Irish food - mashed potatoes with finely sliced scallions (spring onions) mixed in, a popular and very tasty way of preparing the humble spud. &nbsp;I almost riced cauliflower for the white section on the topping, but that was clearly a moment of near-insanity as it really would be blasphemous to replace spuds with cauliflower on today of all days!!! &nbsp;I also served my meal with mini Irish soda farles shaped as a lucky Irish shamrock, which gave a nice touch on the finished dish :-)</p>
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<p>If you fancy preparing any alternative Irish food on this day, please see my previous recipes here:</p>
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<p><a href="https://steemit.com/food/@woman-onthe-wing/steemit-culinary-challenge-4-lucky-shamrock-salmon-salad-an-original-recipe">Lucky Shamrock Salmon Salad</a></p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/food/@woman-onthe-wing/vegetarian-homemade-baked-beans-on-homemade-wholewheat-irish-soda-farles-easy">Irish Soda Farles with Homemade Baked Beans</a></p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/food/@woman-onthe-wing/homemade-healthy-snacks-series-8-wholewheat-irish-soda-bread">Wholewheat Irish Soda Bread</a></p>
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<p>Before getting to the recipe I will just take this moment to wish you all much happiness and prosperity on this day. &nbsp;Let's hope the luck of the Irish brings us all good fortune on Steemit too!</p>
<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/xo4yi8v1r/shamrock.jpg" width="513" height="640"/></p>
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<p><strong>What you will need:</strong></p>
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<p>200g red lentils</p>
<p>2 cups cooked aduki beans*</p>
<p>2 red onions</p>
<p>6+ cloves garlic</p>
<p>1 jar tomato passata</p>
<p>1 tsp salt</p>
<p>2 tsp black pepper</p>
<p>1 tblsp rosemary</p>
<p>1 tblsp thyme</p>
<p>1 tblsp parsley</p>
<p>2 large potatoes (I use Irish rooster - rooster are great for mashing)</p>
<p>2 tsp butter</p>
<p>1/2 tsp nutmeg</p>
<p>3 scallions (spring onions)</p>
<p>2 large carrots</p>
<p>1 small head broccoli</p>
<p>60g khorasan flour</p>
<p>Pinch salt</p>
<p>1/4 tsp baking soda</p>
<p>1 tsp wheatgrass powder</p>
<p>60ml buttermilk (or regular milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar added and left to sour for 15 mins)</p>
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<p>* I always have a stash of cooked-from-dried beans in little jars in the freezer, which is super handy if you do a lot of vegetarian &nbsp;cooking. &nbsp;Please see my previous post on the easiest way to <a href="https://steemit.com/food/@woman-onthe-wing/batch-cooking-and-freezing-beans-from-dried-the-easiest-and-most-efficient-method">batch cook beans.&nbsp; </a>If you use tinned or carton beans, make sure to drain off the liquid and rinse thoroughly as preservatives are usually used and it's not good to ingest them.</p>
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<p><strong>Method:</strong></p>
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<p>Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with cold water. &nbsp;Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until softened (but not mushy). &nbsp;</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/9hbxo5fe7/DSCF1328.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Drain and set aside.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/eijbpimun/DSCF1333.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Half-mash the aduki beans - this gives a good 'meaty' texture.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/jl58y1lin/DSCF1339.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Peel and dice the onion and garlic. &nbsp;Saute in a tablespoon of coconut oil on moderate heat until softened (about 5 minutes).</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/z1e7ul0rz/DSCF1330.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/hqsegayi7/DSCF1334.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Add the lentils and aduki beans, and cook for a few minutes.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/z7wibezan/DSCF1340.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Add the tomato passata, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and parsley, and stir well. &nbsp;Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes until all the flavours are combined.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/mkc5l5uzz/DSCF1345.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Transfer the mixture into a suitable oven-proof dish and level out.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/o0no3axwv/DSCF1350.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Peel and dice the potatoes, and then steam for about 15-20 minutes until soft.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/n76gwy2i7/DSCF1321.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/p09dl9nov/DSCF1323.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Mash the potatoes until creamy and lump-free, then add the butter and nutmeg and mix in.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/6wayedfe7/DSCF1341.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Wash and finely slice the scallions. &nbsp;Add to the mashed potatoes and mix in well.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/yftuc7v3j/DSCF1337.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/wt4mqzj1r/DSCF1344.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Peel and roughly chop the carrots, then mince using a food processor or manual veg chopper.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/71epo1mpb/DSCF1352.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Roughly chop the broccoli, including the stem, and mince in a food processor/manual veg chopper.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/bbtdjmrsf/DSCF1355.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Arrange the mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli in sections to resemble the green-white-orange of the Irish flag.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/yeohwjinj/DSCF1359.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Pop into the oven and bake at 190 degrees Celsius for about 30-40 minutes until piping hot and slightly crunchy on top.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/632xzhyr3/DSCF1362.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>To make the shamrock decorative Irish soda breads combine the flour, salt, baking soda and wheatgrass powder and mix well. &nbsp;Add the buttermilk and mix using your hand to form a firm dough. &nbsp;It should be quite a dry dough rather than wet.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/p58jh75m7/DSCF1313.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/5c1128hm7/DSCF1314.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Lightly dust the surface with wheatgrass powder, and roll the dough out to approx. 1/2 cm thick using a rolling pin.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/4ns6jaiwf/DSCF1315.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Using a heart-shaped pastry cutter, cut out 4 hearts for the 'lucky shamrock'.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/sssw10373/DSCF1318.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>Place onto a lightly dusted baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes until firm to touch.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/pzzogz2un/DSCF1319.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>To serve the dish, arrange the soda breads in a shamrock shape on top of the cottage pie.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/bibo0gqb3/DSCF1378.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/de7n33twv/DSCF1403.jpg" width="640" height="480"/></p>
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<p>For more healthy vegetarian, sugar-free, additive-free recipes for meals and snacks, please follow me! &nbsp;<br>
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<p>Many thanks.<br>
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<p>For extra tips on health for you and your family, can also support me as Natural Health Mama at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/naturalhealthmamma">https://www.facebook.com/naturalhealthmamma</a> and <a href="https://naturalhealthmamablog.wordpress.com/">https://naturalhealthmamablog.wordpress.com/</a><br>
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<p>All photos in this post are my own original.</p>
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<p><img src="https://s25.postimg.org/y3tjx446n/woman.jpg" width="320" height="93"/></p>
<p>Logo kindly created for me by @papa-pepper</p>
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