Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie

Beats frankincense and myrrh any day!

On the 12^th day of Christmas, my true love myself gave to me an entire, hearty warming pie, with;

11 minutes drooling,

10 minutes dicing,

90 seconds aggressive mashing,

8 stomach rumbles,

7 blends of herbs,

6 sweet potatoes,

500 graaaaammmms (of lean mince),

4 large carrots,

3 cloves of garlic,

2 whole leeks,

And a cup of frozen peas!

Season’s greetings again chums.

It’s time for dinner and it’s time for something that’s classic and comforting, humble yet wholesome and of course healthy but hearty. It’s time of course for shepard’s pie!

Once considered a poverty meal due to the high abundance and low cost of potatoes back in ye olden times, shepard’s pie is a grandparent’s favourite across the British Isles. Regardless of its placement on the lower end of the edible social spectrum, I’m pretty sure that back in medieval times this dish would have guaranteed any peasant’s survival through the harsh winter months; and as to be socially successful it helps to not be frozen, I think that this pie deserves a lot of respect. Hail, the pie! On top of that, whilst surviving the cold weather of December may not be as much of a significant issue in modern-day Britain, during this time of year a combination of multiple birthdays and Christmas shopping manages to ensure that I am consistently a peasant in terms of my finances. Therefore, this is the perfect time of year for this dish.

Plus shepards are very festive in their own right aren’t they? In every nativity scene there’s always one or two lurking in the background, looking a bit embarrassed by the fact that they’ve just offered the messiah a sheep whilst the three wise men are turning up with gold etc. Bet the poor guys felt right sheepish…

…

I can literally here the crickets chirping.

Also a little fun fact if you’re interested; it’s the lamb mince that makes this a shepard’s pie whilst traditionally the use of beef makes it a cottage pie. Already knew that huh? Well did you know that if you were to take said shepard’s pie and top it with bread crumbs it would transform before your eyes into a Cumberland pie. Other variations of this classic dish are yet to be granted names which I thought was most un-sporting and as a result I then had to spend the good part of half an hour thinking some up. Here's what my brain achieved:

When turkey/chicken mince is used = Bernard’s pie

When pork mince is used = Butcher’s pie or Babe pie 

When vegetables are used = Vegetables with potatoes on top (pie)

When lentils/beans/pulses are used = Cottage with windows open pie

When quorn mince is used = Lying cow pie

When sweet potato is used on top of any of the above fillings = My kind of pie.

I’m not knocking regular white potato varieties such as Morris piper, in fact I eat them nearly every day (Nan is still in 1940’s kitchen mode with meat/veg/potato meals being produced at factory level scale) but I do just genuinely love sweet potatoes that little bit more. It’s the sweet, starchy, carby goodness that gets me every time and coupled with how they can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes very easily (e.g. my twice baked sweet potatoes – 2 ways) along with the fact that they are loaded with vitamin c and beta carotene which will keep your immune system up and running, they will forever get my undivided adoration. Being ill over Christmas? Can there be such a dark concept? Not if you get a few sweet potatoes down your gullet I say!

Leftovers for lunch the next day + freezer friendly for future meals = something I can get on board with!

Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Filling/base

500g lean mince of choice (I used Lamb 5% fat)

4 large carrots

1 onion

1 bell pepper

3 cloves garlic

2 leeks

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups stock (I went for a reduced salt variety by Kallo)

1 cup extra water if needed

cooking spray or 2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

2-3 tbsp oat flour (or flour of choice)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Couple of bay leaves

2 tsp mixed herbs  

Potato topping

5-6 small-medium sweet potatoes

¼ cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

60g grated mature cheddar - you can use a reduced fat cheese instead but 60g is only about two servings of the full fat variety and it melts much better - a little goes a long way.

Optional: some chopped chives and black pepper as garnish 

Instructions:

Peel and dice those glorious sweet potatoes and chop up the rest of vegetables into chunks. Be careful not to cut off your fingers as this could put a dampener over the rest of the Christmas period. 

Oil/spray a saucepan over medium heat, add onions and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the garlic, the mince and cook till browned off. 

Add the rest of the vegetables (bar the peas) and cook for five minutes before stirring in the tomato paste, herbs and flour.

Add in stock and bay leaves, stirring everything together.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 mins. If the mixture gets too dry during this stage add some extra water in. Go by your own judgement. I believe in you!

Add frozen peas and stick potatoes on to steam at this point for roughly 10-15 minutes. Also preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

After the potatoes have cooked and are fork tender remove both them and the mince off the heat. You can fish the bay leaves out at this point but I left them in so they could flavour the pie more as it baked in the oven, plus it makes a fun game of who will find/potentially choke on the bay leaf. 

Place potatoes in a bowl, add milk and any desired seasonings before mashing up and using this action as your claim to working out for the day. Do you even mash bro?

Layer the mince in a casserole dish and dollop mashed potato on top before spreading out to cover.

Top with cheese, cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes.

Remove, sprinkle over some chopped chives (if ya fancy) and gaze at the hot, baked pie lovingly before you either dish up into 4-6 portions or just simply smash your face into it.