As I keep mentioning Sarah Brown’s Red Dragon Pie in my meal plans, I thought I had better publish the recipe. The book it comes from is Vegetarian Kitchen
I do wish they would do a reprint of this one. It is packed full of great, easy to make and unfussy recipes. I think it is more relevant than ever with the current popularity of vegetarianism and veganism. If you are lucky, you might find it second hand on Amazon.
Red Dragon Pie is the veggie replacement for shepherd’s pie. Just as tasty and delicious with vegetables and vegetarian gravy. I tend to use cans of aduki beans for this as it is much quicker to make. However, if you use dried you will need to soak them over night or in boiling water for 1 hour. Rinse them, bring to the boil and cook for 50 minutes. Drain and reserve the stock.
Red Dragon Pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
110g aduki beans
50g rice
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
25g carrots, diced
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp mixed herbs
Half a pint of stock or the reserved liquid from the aduki beans
salt and pepper
450g potatoes, peeled and chopped
25g butter
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked beans and rice. Mix the soy sauce, tomato puree and herbs with the stock, then pour over the beans and vegetables. Season to taste, adding a little more liquid if necessary. Transfer to a greased 1.5 litre casserole dish.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until cooked and mash with the butter. Season well and top your bean mixture. Bake in the oven for around 40 minutes until the top has browned.
For more frugal recipes we enjoy, see my Frugal Recipes page.
I am thrilled to tell you that I have eaten Red Dragon Pie in the originally restaurant in Scarborough cooked by the lady herself. This was back in the 80s when veggie food was rather scarce. We loved going to the original Sarah Browns but eventually I think her writing and TV work took over and she sold out ? Often make similar pie but now I use sweet potato instead. That was a blast fom our holiday past today.
Wow, really? Didn’t know she ran a restaurant
I used to love this dish. It was a family favourite made by both my Mother and Aunt – although I’m sure my Mother used Red Kidney Beans rather than Aduki Beans. I’m not a Vegetarian (and never have been), but it’s still a great dish for anyone. I’ve seen it recently touted as a Vegan dish as if it’s a completely new recipe!
I was recently discussing the meals my Sister and I had as children and found I had a copy of the “Vegetarian Kitchen” buried at the back of the cupboard. Happy Days!
Such a great cook book!