Cottage Pie
Green
A cottage pie full of flavour and good nutrition.
Ingredients
- Ingredient
- Amount
- Olive oil
- As needed
- Onion, diced
- 220 grams
- Garlic, peeled and crushed or finely diced
- 10 grams (2 cloves)
- Lean beef mince
- 800 grams
- Mixed vegetables, fresh or frozen*
- 350 grams
- Canned brown lentils, drained
- 1 x 400 gram tin
- Canned diced tomatoes
- 800 grams
- Salt reduced tomato paste
- 60 grams
- Worcestershire sauce
- 40 millilitres
- Salt reduced vegetable stock powder
- 10 grams
- Water
- 150 millilitres
- Herbs, fresh or dried#
- 4 grams
- Salt and pepper
- To taste
- Potatoes, peeled and cut into even sized pieces
- 1.1 kilograms
- Margarine^
- 110 grams
- Reduced fat milk
- 140 millilitres
- Reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated
- 150 grams
This is a School Lunch Project Menu item, best served “with Seasonal Vegetables”.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180oC. Spray or lightly brush the large baking tray with oil.
- Put one of the large saucepans or stock pots over medium heat and add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until they start to look transparent.
- Add the mince and vegetables to the pan and gently stir, breaking up any lumps of meat with your spoon. Cook until the meat is lightly browned and the vegetables are soft.
- Add the lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock powder, water, Worcestershire sauce and herbs and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the mixture has thickened slightly. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Put the potatoes in a large saucepan or stock pot and add enough warm or hot water to cover them. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Drain and return them to the saucepan.
- Add the margarine and milk to the potatoes and mash until smooth and creamy.
- Spoon the beef mixture into the bottom of the large baking tray and spread the mashed potato on top. Evenly sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the potato.
- Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the potato topping is a golden brown and the cheese has melted.
*Vegetables such as carrot, celery, zucchini, mushroom, peas, broccoli or cauliflower would all work well. #Use fresh herbs if you have them available, but if not dried are fine. Parsley, thyme, sage, oregano, or bay leaves would all work well. ^Choose a monounsaturated or polyunsaturated margarine spread.