Abandoning her list making she set about making their dinner and decided on a comforting homely cottage’s pie. Once again she got Hannah to help her out.
‘Cottage Pie’ (serves 6)
You will need
10 to 12medium–sized potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
500g round steak mince
3 medium carrots
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tbsp tomato puree
Butter for mashing and topping potatoes
500ml hot beef stock (from cube is fine)
300g frozen peas
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190oC / Gas Mark 6.
Peel the potatoes, cut to an even size and boil in a saucepan of boiling water until tender.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying or saucepan and brown the mince over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, peel and grate the carrots and set aside.
Add the mixed herbs to the browned mince and mix through.
Add the tomato puree to the meat and cook for 1minute , then add the grated carrots.
When the potatoes are cooked, mash them with butter.
Make up the 500 ml of beef stock in a jug of boiling water, add the frozen peas and leave to stand for 1 minute.
Pour the peas and stock into the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with the meat and carrot mix and then the mashed potatoes. Put a few dots of butter here and there on top of the potatoes. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with a garnish of chopped parsley.
The kids loved this tasty dinner and as much as they hated vegetables the disguised grated carrots were eaten without protest.
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