Cottage Pie

This Week

2 Dec - 8 Dec

Comfort food at its best. Just in case there is any confusion, cottage pie is made with beef mince and its fellow pie, which he is often confused with, is shepherd’s pie and made with lamb mince.

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Meal Prep Guide

Pre-cut vegetables; finely dice 2 carrots and 1 zucchini. (store together in an airtight container in the fridge)

Tips

You can make extra mince omitting the peas, and freeze in portion sizes – ready for spag bol, mince on toast topped with a fried egg or the start of your Mexican inspired mince (just add spices like paprika and oregano)

Shortcuts

Vegetables

Swap regular potatoes for sweet potato mash or If you’d prefer a low carb option, cauliflower mash is a tasty alternative.

Protein

For a vegetarian option, swap the mince out for 1 can of brown lentils (drained) and a 1 cup of finely diced mushrooms. Add mushrooms after step 3, once the mushrooms are cooked and the liquid release had evaporated add lentils and cook as per recipe steps.

Ingredients

Filling

600g – 700g beef mince
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion (finely diced)
2 carrots (finely diced)
1 zucchini (finely diced)
2 Tbsp fresh herbs (we used rosemary, oregano and thyme) or 1 Tbsp of dried mixed herbs
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
½ cup of stock
½ cup of wine (or another ½ cup of stock)
1 cup of frozen peas

Mash

4 medium potatoes (peeled and chopped)
2 Tbsp butter
Dash of cream, milk or milk alternative.
Salt and pepper

Side

Green beans (2 cups)
Drizzle of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Zest of ½ a lemon (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius fan bake.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, herbs, onion, garlic, carrot and zucchini.
Saute for 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and start to caramelise.
Increase the heat to high and add the mince. Cook for 7 minutes or so until the mince is nicely browned and all of the liquid released from the mince has evaporated.
Add the tomato paste, stock and wine. Cook over a high heat for a few minutes before turning down to a gentle simmer. Cook for as long as you have time for – we like to cook it for at least 30 minutes or so but It can cook for an hour over a low heat with the lid on. In the last five minutes of cooking add the frozen peas.
While the filling is simmering, make the mash. Start by boiling the potatoes, add to a pot with cold water and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until tender.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and return them to the pot and add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until smooth and creamy.
Pie time, Add the ‘filling’ to a large baking dish and cover with the mashed potatoes.
Pop in the oven to cook for 30 minutes until the mash potato has turned golden brown.
When the pie has nearly finished cooking, steam the green beans for 3-5 minutes until they are cooked but still have a nice ‘crunch’ to them. Drizzle over some olive oil, salt and some lemon zest and serve alongside the cottage pie.

Variations

Vegetables

Swap regular potatoes for sweet potato mash or If you’d prefer a low carb option, cauliflower mash is a tasty alternative.

Protein

For a vegetarian option, swap the mince out for 1 can of brown lentils (drained) and a 1 cup of finely diced mushrooms. Add mushrooms after step 3, once the mushrooms are cooked and the liquid release had evaporated add lentils and cook as per recipe steps.