Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping

April 10, 2015

Shepherds PieAre you looking to make a yummy dinner or a tasty work day lunch? This recipe can also be a possible Paleo recipe if you omit butter and cheese.

If you’re in the habit of using ingredients like gravox to bind pie fillings together or stock cubes to add flavour, the good news is this recipe will show you how easy it is to add flavour AND make your food more nutrient dense!  I find one easy way to replace gravox in a Shepherd’s pie filling by using no additive ingredients such as mashed sweet potato, tomato paste, cinnamon, chilli and if you like cumin and paprika!

To make it super quick and easy I remind myself to roast some sweet potato when I have the oven on.  If you don’t have a roast sweet potato stash, don’t worry!  It takes no time at all to roast some if you dice your sweet potato into 1 cm cubes and get that cooking while you get everything else ready.  To give your pie extra flavour and zing you can toss the cubes in oil, salt, cinnamon, and chilli.  (and while you’re at it cumin if you have it!)

If I keep a stash of sweet potato in the fridge it means I tend to toss this superb vegetable that is choc full of nutrients into all sorts of yummy things – salads, omelettes and now a Shepherd’s Pie!  Click here to see how else I use sweet potato.

Lunch is readyIn these photos the Shepherd’s Pie was for hubby’s lunch and I serve it with my favourite Cabbage Salad (yep I make this every week in our house – click here) and a carrot and beetroot salad.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have testing it and eating it!

Louise xx

Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Topping
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Serves: 6 serves
 
This recipe is a great work day lunch or dinner. It's packed with only real foods and 3 spices (chilli flakes, cinnamon and salt)! I used mashed sweet potato and tomato paste to help bind the Shepherd's Pie filling so you don't need ingredients with additives, stock cubes or gravox to make it tasty. If you need to cook sweet potato quickly, just dice it into 1 cm cubes and roast. To give it extra flavour and zing you can toss the cubes in some oil, salt, cinnamon, and chilli.
Ingredients
  • 1 large sweet potato, steamed/ roasted/ cooked
  • Cauliflower topping: 1 cauliflower, cut into florets; 2 tablespoons butter/ fat of choice; good amount of salt to taste {plus 1 cup freshly grated cheese - in / on top - optional}
  • 1-2 tablespoons oil
  • 500g lamb mince
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4-6 large portobello mushrooms, cubed
  • ½ - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (to suit you!)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Optional - paprika, cumin ½ - 1 tsp of each
  • 2 tubs tomato paste (140g each)
  • 4 carrots, cubed/ roughly chopped
  • 1 zucchini, cubed/ roughly chopped
  • 1 capsicum, chopped into cubes
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Choose a pan that can go from stove top to oven to save on washing up!
  2. Prep and cook the sweet potato however you like (steam/ roast etc).
  3. Prep Cauliflower and steam florets until soft (about 7 minutes).
  4. While that's cooking, heat oil in a large pan on high and add lamb mince. Cook and stir to break up meat (about 5 mins). (While that is cooking chop vegetables).
  5. Add onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes.
  6. Add chilli and cinnamon. Stir well then add tomato paste and cook the paste for a couple of minutes to give the meat more flavour!
  7. Add carrot, zucchini, capsicum and mashed sweet potato. Stir well so the mashed sweet potato starts to bind the pie filling together.
  8. Press firmly into the dish (if using an oven proof dish, otherwise transfer to an oven proof dish).
  9. Mash the cauliflower florets with the butter and salt (I use a stick blender). Add some freshly grated cheese if you want into the topping or save for the top.
  10. Put Cauliflower topping on pie (sprinkle some grated cheese on top - optional!).
  11. Bake for 5-10 minutes at around 200 to get the Cauliflower topping crispy (and brown).

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