We love a hidden veg recipe! As a firm favourite amongst kids, cottage pie make an ideal meal to sneak even more veg into - without it going noticed! It's not about hiding all veg in a meal - rather just adding 'extra' to make it even more nutritious! This simple recipe only needs about 20 mins prep time and can also be cooked in larger quantities to be frozen down for those busy days. With a few options this recipe can easily become gluten and/or dairy free. Soft and easy to cut up - a great meal for pre-schoolers to practice their Stage 3 children’s cutlery skills with!
Perfect to be enjoyed by just the kids or the whole family!
Cook Time Total: Approximately 1 hr and 10 mins
Ingredients - Serves 2 – 3 (double up if you want to feed more of the family or freeze some for later)
1tbsp Olive oil
1 Onions, chopped
30g Carrots, grated
30g Red pepper, diced
30g Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Clove of garlic, crushed (more to taste)
200g Tinned chopped tomatoes
1tbsp Plain flour (gluten free if required)
225g Minced beef
130ml Beef stock (gluten free if required)
1/2tsp Fresh thyme, chopped
1/2tsp Worcestershire sauce (gluten free if required)
A pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
300g Potatoes, peeled and cubed
A little milk (milk/dairy alternative if required)
A little butter (milk/dairy alternative if required)
30g Cheddar cheese, grated (medium best for flavour- in our opinion!) (milk/dairy alternative if required)
How to Cook
STEP 1:
Heat 1/2 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan. Add half of the chopped onion and fry for approximately 2 minutes. Then add the carrot, red pepper and mushrooms, and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, then the chopped tomatoes.
STEP 2:
Bring up to the boil and simmer for about 12-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Blend until smooth with a hand blender.
STEP 3:
Heat remaining oil in a saucepan. Fry the other half of the onion for 2 minutes. Add the beef, wait until it browns, then coat in the flour. Add the stock, cooked vegetables, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Season and simmer for 25 mins
STEP 4:
Cook the potatoes in boiling lightly salted water until soft, drain, then mash with the milk and butter. (Start to pre-heat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7 when the potatoes are almost done.) Spread the potato over the mince and sprinkle with the cheese.
STEP 5:
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven at 220°C/gas mark 7, until bubbling and tinged brown on top. Use this time to prepare any extra veg you want to add on the side.
STEP 6:
Serve on their favourite plate with their favourite children’s cutlery ; )
Sit down together and enjoy, knowing everyone's eating even more veg!
