Comforting Cottage Pie

Classic cottage pie perfect to warm up on a chilly day

INGREDIENTS

For the mince
2tbsp olive oil
500g Blacker Hall steak mince
2tbsp tomato puree
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
100g of frozen peas
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp of dried thyme or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
350ml beef stock
1 tsp Henderson’s relish
Salt and pepper to taste

For the mash topping
1kg of good mashing potatoes, peeled and chopped
25g butter

METHODS
Preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6.

Heat the oil in pan, add the diced onion and carrot and cook gently for about 5 minutes or until softened, remove from the pan and save in a dish.

Add a splash more oil to the pan. When it’s hot, fry the mince for 5 minutes or until browned all over.

Stir the carrot and onion mixture back into and the tomato puree and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and thyme cook for another minute.

Pour in the stock and the Henderson’s Relish, stir and reduce the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

After 15 minutes stir in the frozen peas and season to taste.

While the mince is cooking, boil the potatoes for 20-25 minutes and mash with the butter.

Spoon the mince mixture into an oven-proof dish then top with the mash potato ensuring you create a seal over the mince.

Bake the cottage pie uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown on top.