Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

I don’t know about you, but for me Cottage Pie has always been a wonderful comfort food. Traditionally, it is made with a white potato topping made of potatoes mashed with butter and warm milk (or cream). For those of us who are sensitive to potatoes or are avoiding them because of their starch content, or for those like me who keep a kosher kitchen and cannot use butter and milk with a meat base, this recipe has the answer. In Food - What the Heck Should I Cook Dr Mark Hyman shares a Dr Drew Ramsey version, which is both Paleo and kosher. Here I shall provide the original recipe with my own modifications.

Ingredients

For the topping:

• 3 medium to large sweet potatoes (any colour you prefer)

• 2/3 cup of coconut milk

• 1 tsp garlic powder (I used garlic salt)

• 1 tsp baking powder

For the meat base:

• 500 gram full fat minced beef

• 1 onion - finely chopped

• 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

• 100 gram mushrooms of your choice - chopped

• 1/2 cup cooked lentils - optional (I didn’t use them)

• 1 carrot - finely chopped - optional (I substituted it for the lentils)

• 1 Tbs gluten free Worcestershire sauce ( I used: 1 tsp Tamari, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and 1 tsp carob syrup instead)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper or other seasoning of choice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C or 180C fan.

2. Put the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 20 min, but check with fork.

3. While potatoes are cooking, warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms (and carrot if using) and cook until tender, 5-6 minutes.

4. Remove vegetables from pan, increase the heat and add the beef to the pan. Brown for 2-3 minutes without stirring. Continue to cook, breaking up the meat for about 2 minutes longer.

5. Stir in the lentils (if using) , the Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Return the vegetables to the pan and mix in with the beef.

6. Transfer the vegetables and beef mixture into a 20x20 baking dish.

7. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain and transfer to a food processor. add the coconut milk and garlic powder and process until smooth. Sprinkle the baking pwder over the mixture and process again to incorporate. Using a spatula, evenly spread the potato mixture over the meat mixture in the baking dish.

8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pie is bubbling hot and the top is golden. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a green salad.