Apparently this month there is a campaign, to encourage people to go vegan for January. To which the only reply I’m capable of making is “absolutely not.”

My stance on all forms of diet, is that I’m happy if they work for other people and  I will try and accommodate people’s particular needs, guests who tell me they don’t do sugar, will get eye rolls but I won’t serve them meringue and so on. I do eat a lot less meat than I used to and I don’t like to eat food that is too processed (unless, I’ve done the processing or it’s ketchup!), so I eat butter, not margarine, I don’t eat soy yoghurt or milk. Vegan ‘cheese’ and ‘meat’ substitutes do not and will not feature in my diet or yours if you come to dinner.

However, if you tell me that you don’t eat meat, you may get this if you come over for dinner.

Cottage pie is one of my comfort foods and I’ve played about with it before using cauliflower instead of potatoes for mash. This time I played about with the bottom, using a lentil sauce instead of meat. I used this recipe to make the sauce and topped with mashed potatoes and cheese and called it done.

It was really good, the sauce is quick and easy, it’s made up of ingredients I normally have in my store cupboard. If you were thinking of going meatless, this would be a perfect introduction especially for children and if you are thinking of going vegan, just leave out the cheese!