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).
Recipe by Meal Planning Your Way at https://www.mealplanningyourway.com/2015/04/10/shepherds-pie-with-cauliflower-topping/