Polenta Shepherd’s Pie

Directions

• Vege Filling. Heat the teaspoon of oil in a frying pan or wok to medium heat and toss the kale around in there for 2-3 minutes, until wilted (a little brown is okay too). Add the lemon juice, garlic and carrot, turning the heat down a bit. Tip the pumpkin and herbs in, mashing everything together. Stir the lot for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
• Make the polenta crust. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, paprika, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Grab a whisk and slowly start pouring the polenta into the boiling water in a steady stream, whisking the whole time. Once you’ve poured out all the polenta and there are no visible clumps, switch to a rubber spatula. Bring the it to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook, stirring very often, until quite thick but still slightly fluid, about 15 minutes. Stir in olive oil and adjust seasoning. Remove it from the heat.
• Making Pie. Scrape the Polenta into your prepared round dish. Working quickly with the spatula, push the soft polenta up the sides of the dish to form a “crust.” Make it as even as you can and smooth out the bottom completely. The consistency should be like Play Doh and quite easy to work with.
  Spread vege filling evenly on top of the crust, then top with a smooth layer of polenta.
  Bake at 350°F/180°C for 25 to 30 minutes, or until polenta begins to turn golden brown.
• Assembly Pie. Filled up the piping cream pastry bag with creamy mashed cauliflower. Pipe the creamy mashed cauliflower around top of the pie. Sprinkle some tiny cubes of cucumber, carrot and tomatoes on top of the creamy mashed cauliflower.