Cosy Cottage Pie

Homely and hearty – even if you don’t live in a cottage – this is always a favourite with little and big ones alike. 

serves 6 

prep 20 minutes  

cook 1 hour 

What you need  

600 g/1 lb 5 oz potatoes, diced

50 ml/2 fl oz whole milk 

200 g/7 oz sweet potato, diced 

1 carrot, diced 

1 onion, chopped 

500 g/1 lb 2 oz lean minced beef 

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 

250 ml/9 fl oz reduced-salt 

vegetable stock 

2 tomatoes, chopped 

100 g/3½ oz frozen peas, Defrosted 

What to do 

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. 

2 Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Drain them and return them to the saucepan. Pour in the milk, then mash the potatoes well. 

3 While the potatoes are bubbling, cook the sweet potato and carrot in another saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain them and coarsely mash. 

4 Fry the onion, minced beef and cinnamon for 5 minutes until the mince is completely brown. Add the stock, the mashed sweet potato and carrot mixture and the tomatoes to the mince and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas, give it a stir and transfer it all to an ovenproof serving dish. Top with the mashed potato and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden. 

Ella’s shortcut 

To save on some chopping time, replace the sweet potato and carrots with a 120 g/4¼ oz pouch of Ella’s Kitchen Spinach, Apples + Swedes and reduce the amount 

of stock to 200 ml/7 fl oz. 

This recipe is from Ella’s Kitchen: The Red One by Ella’s Kitchen

If you liked this recipe, why not try this 5 Veg Onion Bhaji Crusted Quiche from The Slimming Foodie by Pip Payne?