First one of the year… I had such a nice Christmas with people cooking for me. As much as I love getting creative in the kitchen and losing myself in flavour combos and new ideas. Food always tastes 10 times better if someone else prepares it! We have had a few weeks of picky food and festive treats and now it’s all about getting back into our normal routines!

It’s still cold and miserable out and there is nothing nicer than a comforting cottage pie. I always get confused with the whole cottage and Shepard thing – but it’s sheep / Shepard / lamb and cottage / not sheep!

Like lots of people I am cutting out meat for many reasons and I am not what to preach, however, my family aren’t. This recipe can either be made for meat eaters or veggies. I reckon you could have it in the oven in 5 minutes.

2 cans baked beans

1 can chopped tomatoes 

1 large red onion chopped 

2 cloves of garlic 

1 veggie stock cube

500g good quality mince or quorn mince

1 punnet of microscopically chopped mushrooms 

2 large grated carrots 

1 tablespoon chopped thyme 

1 can of water (Fill the tomato tin) 

For the mash 

1kg potatoes 

25g butter 

As much milk as required to make it Mashable 

Pinch of salt and pepper 

100g grated strong cheddar to sprinkle on the top of the pie before putting it in the oven.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade 

Fry the onions and garlic together then add your mince 

Once browned add the rest of the ingredients and reduce until you have a nice and thick sauce.

For the mash 

Peel the potatoes and chop into pieces which won’t take forever to cook. Once cooked, drain and add the butter milk and seasoning and get mashing until smooth. 

Alternatively you could buy the frozen mash!

Grab a large roasting tin add your cooked mince mixture and then spoon the potato on top. 

Score lines in with a knife so the spuds crisp up.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and pop in the oven for around 45 mins until golden and bubbling

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