Air Fryer Shepherd’s Pie

Since I bought a 4.3 litre air fryer, I’ve been experimenting with using it to cook various different dishes. So I took my existing recipe for a shepherd’s pie, and altered the quantities slightly, so I could make it in the air fryer rather than using the oven. Rather than baking this in the oven for 30 minutes, it cooks in the air fryer for just 15 minutes. To further keep costs down, I used TVP (textured vegetable protein) for the mince for this. It’s incredibly cheap and very versatile, I buy it from Holland and Barrett, but other shops sell it too

To make this I use a 7 inch cake tin, it’s 3 inches deep. It’s just a normal cake tin with a thin handle, but any similar dish would work too

Yield; Three to four servings Cook time; 45 minutes

You’ll need;

Three medium sized baking potatoes, peeled and diced
One large carrot, peeled and sliced
50g dairy free butter/margarine
One brown onion, chopped
100g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
50g TVP, textured vegetable protein, also known as soya protein
One meat free beef oxo cube
Two teaspoons of instant gravy powder
Half a teaspoon of each of the following; parsley, thyme and rosemary
One teaspoon of dijon mustard
A good splash of milk

Method;

Start by heating 25g of butter/margarine in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once it’s melted add in the onion and give it five minutes to soften. Next, add in the mushrooms and give them another 10 minutes to cook
While the mushrooms are cooking, pop the stock cube into a cup, and pour over 150ml boiled water. Stir until the stock cube has fully dissolved. Next add the TVP into a shallow dish in an even layer. Pour the stock over the TVP and cover the dish with a plate, allow the TVP to absorb the stock for 5 minutes, then add the mince to the frying pan
Sprinkle the herbs and gravy powder over the mince mixture, then add 100ml water and stir until it thickens. Once it thickens spoon it into a dish. You can season with salt and pepper, but I felt it didn’t need any personally
Next, boil the sliced carrot until tender, mine took around 8 minutes. Then drain away the water and lay them in an even layer on top of the mince
Finally bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the diced potato and boil for around 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain the water away, then add the remaining butter/margarine, dijon and a splash of plant milk to the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, then mash until smooth and creamy. Spoon the mashed potato on top of the layer of carrots, I always score the mash with a fork
Cook in the air fryer at 200°C for 15 minutes, or until piping hot and golden on top. Serve with vegetables and plenty of gravy