Ackee Mashed Potatoes {Vegan}

Fluffy and flavourful ackee mashed potatoes are done and delicious using garlic infused coconut oil.

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It’s amazing how golden and beautifully silky these potatoes turn out with no butter, sour cream or other dairy added. I’ve used the Constance Estate Garlic Infused Coconut Oil from CGA Ltd which we tried and loved for the first time on the Beets & Greens Flatbread.

You could use a blend of your favourite herbs and spices and switch it up to suit.

These mashed potatoes are tasty on their own and would make a delicious side.

I used them to make one of my favourite vegan dishes Spicy Lentil Shepards Pie. As I write this I’m thinking another fun version would be the Chili infused coconut oil in the ackee mash with a touch of cumin over a black bean saute 😋

This lentil Shepards pie is one of those recipes that get better by the day so it’s one of the few things I don’t mind having a few days in a row.

Simple recipes like mashed potatoes in my opinion are all about just taking a little time to do it right. All the steps are easy as you’d imagine the main tips are:

1. Start the potatoes in salted cold water so they are seasoned throughout as they cook.
2. Don’t overcook them to mush, we’d like a nice fluffy mash and not a gluggy paste.
3. Finally, I pass mine through a sieve since I don’t have potato ricer or masher, but you could use either of those, if you use the masher however, you make have a few chunks of ackees here and there as you won’t be able to mash every piece. To avoid that, you could first puree the ackee then mix in the puree after you’ve mashed the potatoes but generally I’m for dirtying less dishes and not more 😆

The recipes for both the mash and the lentils are below. The lentil recipe is more of a guide including the ingredients I usually put in, but it’s ever evolving and I rarely make it exactly the same way twice.

To make the Shepards pie you spread the lentils in the bottom of your baking dish and cover with the mashed potatoes. Then bake for a few minutes (this is only necessary if your lentils were cool) to warm through. Then place under the broiler till the top is nice and crisp and has browned in spots.

What do you think?

As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. If you make this or any of the recipes from this be sure to #amazingackee and @amazingackee so that I can see your posts across social media.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by 😊

Ackee Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Infused Coconut Oil

Chantal

Fluffy and flavourful ackee mashed potatoes are delicious minus dairy

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Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced
• 1 can Ackee, warm (about 2 cups parboiled)
• 4 tbsps Garlic infused coconut plus more to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Additional herbs if desired

Instructions

 

• Place the potatoes with about a teaspoon of salt in a pot and pour enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch
• Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let cook till soft.
• When potatoes are done, reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid and set aside
• Mix potatoes with ackees and pass them through a sieve, food mill or potato ricer. You could also use a potato masher but you'd end up with a few ackee chunks here and there where the masher misses the pieces, alternately you could puree the ackee and mix it in at the end.
• Use the reserve cooking water to thin out the mash if desired
• Enjoy!

Notes

As always, the basic recipe is simply a starting point. 

Feel free to put your own spin on it. Love roasted garlic for example? That would be awesome in this! Or even sun-dried tomatoes, or pesto, let your imagination guide you.

Spicy Lentils - For Shepards Pie

Chantal

This is a guide rather than a solid recipe, the spices and amounts that get thrown in change from time to time depending on what I feel for or what ingredients we have on hand. Feel free to mix it up, the method is the most important bit

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Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsps Coconut oil*
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 3 to 5 cloves garlic minced
• Red and yellow bell peppers diced**
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups Brown green or French lentils***, thoroughly washed and drained
• 2 tbsps Tomato paste
• Kettle of hot water or vegetable stock

To taste (sprinkle sprinkle till your soul says YES!):

• Ground cumin
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in sauce pot (choose a pot that has a lid that fits well). Cook onions till translucent then add garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.
• Add bay leaf and peppers then the lentils. Stir to coat with oil and heat briefly.
• Pour over enough water or stock just to cover the lentils.
• Bring up to a boil then break down to simmer.
• Add and adjust seasonings to taste, be sparing with the salt as the flavour will concentrate as the lentils cook.
• Cover and let cook till the lentils are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
• The method here is similar to making risotto, you want there to be just the right amount of liquid left in the lentils when you're done, you want them soft but not mushy (they should hold their shape) so you'll keep the water or stock warm and add just enough at a time to keep the simmering going.
• Before your last addition of water or stock, add the tomato paste, this will thicken it up quite a bit, this is saved to the end till the end to prevent sticking and burning and to ensure the lentils cook evenly.
• Adjust seasoning
• Enjoy!

Notes

*I usually use regular coconut oil, but since I had it on had and wanted to spice things up I used the chili infused coconut oil for an additional layer of flavour.

**Sometimes I do celery and carrots instead of or as well as peppers

***French lentils are When I'm making creamy lentils I omit the tomato paste go heavy on the cumin and add coconut milk, when I'm making lentils for Shepards pie though since I know the potatoes will be creamy I want to balance that out by going the tomato route.