Cheesy Cottage Pie

This meal is a perfect winter dish for the whole family which is really easy to make. This is also a good dish to make and freeze for a later date or great to reheat any left overs for lunch or dinner the next day.

This is a recipe packed with vegetables! Mixing sweet potatoes with white potatoes is a great way of getting some extra vegetables in to this dish, as we all know sweet potatoes are great for you and taste great as a mash with cheese.

Here is my recipe for a Cheesy Cottage Pie...

INGREDIENTS

(4-6 people)

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced
500g Beef Mince
Half tsp Dried Thyme
Beef Stock Cube Reduced Salt
1 Tinned Chopped Tomatoes
150g Frozen Peas
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the mash

1.5kg Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes, peeled and chopped

150ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter

The left over water from boiling the potatoes, use as much as you need to make the mash nice and creamy

Grated cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesan

METHOD

In a large saucepan boil some fresh water, meanwhile peel and cut your potatoes. Remove the boiling water from the heat and slowly add the potatoes and return the saucepan back to the heat and leave on a medium heat/simmer until the potatoes are very soft

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees fan oven

While the potatoes are boiling away, in a pan add the olive oil and fry the onions and carrots on a medium heat until soft

Add the beef mince and cook, stirring regularly to break the mince down into little pieces and cook until browned

Season with a little salt and pepper and add the dried Thyme, cook for a few minutes and crumble in the beef stock and stir well

Add the tin of tomatoes and cook on a simmer for around 10-15 minutes

Meanwhile; in a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, milk and butter and using a masher or the back of a fork, mash down the potatoes, adding the potato boiled water a little bit at a time until the potatoes becomes a creamy consistency

In a deep dish pour the mince mixture in and level out with a spoon

With a clean tablespoon add a small layer of potato a little at a time until all the mince is covered, then add the rest of the mash over the top and level out

Add some grated cheddar and parmesan and place in the middle of the oven and bake for around 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and browned slightly

Serve a slice with your choice of steamed vegetables and enjoy!