Mushroom and lentil cottage pie
A savoury mushroom-lentil filling with a soft potato topping.
About 1 hr · 360 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian
Pea and ricotta couscous
Couscous with peas, ricotta and fresh mint.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm 250 ml of stock hydrates 110 g of couscous with the peas in it
- Photograph the finished bowls
- Time
- About 20 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 435 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 19 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- vegetable stock. Vegetable stock often contains celery, and some contain milk or gluten; check the label, especially if you need it vegan.
Cooking steps
Bring the stock to the boil in a small pan. Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot stock and peas over it. Cover with a plate and leave for 5 minutes.
Fork the couscous through to separate the grains.
Fold in the ricotta, oil, mint and lemon zest, keeping the mixture loose enough to spoon, and warm it gently if it has cooled.
The useful detail
Keep the final consistency loose enough to spoon. Ricotta stiffens as it cools, so stop while the bowl still looks wetter than you want it.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the pan, a deep bowlful. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Part-skim ricotta
Lighter and slightly grainier.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about 3 g more protein, about 2 g less fat.
Cottage cheese instead of ricotta
More savoury, in curds rather than smooth.
Per serving: about 45 kcal less, about 3 g more protein, about 5 g less fat.
Rice instead of couscous
Cook it separately in the stock.
Per serving: about 5 kcal less, about 3 g less protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Removes gluten.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A quick grain bowl. Sugars are not calculated, because the dry couscous record does not include them; the ricotta carries the protein.
| Energy | 435 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 19 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| of which saturates | 6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 63 g |
| of which sugars | not calculated |
| Fibre | 7 g |
| Sodium | 560 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vegetable stock | 245 g | FDC 171583Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve | 12 kcal | 0.6 g |
| frozen peas | 180 g | FDC 170016Peas, green, frozen, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | 139 kcal | 9.4 g |
| couscous | 110 g | FDC 169699Couscous, dryFoodData Central's record for dry couscous has no sugars value, so sugars are left uncalculated for this recipe rather than guessed. | 414 kcal | 14.0 g |
| ricotta | 180 g | FDC 170851Cheese, ricotta, whole milk | 270 kcal | 13.6 g |
| olive oil | 4.5 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 40 kcal | 0.0 g |
| fresh mint | 5 g | FDC 173475Spearmint, freshFresh mint is 44 kcal per 100 g on FoodData Central 173475, so the few grams a recipe uses add 2 kcal at most. That record has no sugars value, so the mint is listed here rather than counted, which keeps the recipe's sugars calculable. | · | · |
| lemons | zest of ½ | Not calculatedThe zest of half a lemon weighs a few grams and adds flavour rather than measurable energy. | · | · |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 875 kcal | 37.6 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Ingredients marked “Not calculated” are excluded and could add at most 6 kcal to the whole recipe. of which sugars could not be calculated, because one ingredient’s record does not cover it; the row above says which. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. It firms up cold; loosen it with a spoonful of water.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Orzo with white beans and spinach
Orzo with white beans, spinach and a hard cheese finish.
About 25 min · 440 kcal · 23 g protein per serving
Vegetarian