Cottage pie

Perfect comfort food! Home cooking doesn't get much better than a delicious cottage pie fresh and hot from the oven. The rich meat filling (with lots of hidden vegetables) with the buttery, crispy cheese topped mash will satisfy everyone.

Serves 2-4
(We eat quite big portions so adapt this accordingly - we saved one portion of mince mixture to freeze - if you were using all the mince then do slightly more mashed potato!)
- olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 500g lean beef mince
- 150g mushrooms, sliced
- dried mixed herbs
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- generous dash of Worcester sauce (Lea & Perrins)
- generous glug of red wine
- 450ml beef stock
- 600g potatoes, chopped
- dash of milk
- large knob of butter
- cheddar cheese

1. Heat some olive oil in a large pan, then add the onions and carrots, and soften for a few minutes

2. Add the mince to the mixture and cook until browned, stirring to break up the meat.

3. Add the mushrooms and sprinkling of dried herbs, and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the tomato purée, Worcester sauce and the red wine.

5. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about half an hour, or until the sauce is reduced and thickened.

6. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees, and boil the potatoes in salted water.

7. When the potatoes are done (after about 20 minutes), drain and return to the pan. Add the milk and butter and mash until smooth and creamy.

8. When the mince filling is ready, pour into a circular baking dish, and top with the mashed potato, smoothing with a fork. Top with a lot of grated cheddar!

9. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, and the top golden brown. Serve straight away with some green veg! 

Enjoy :)

Creamy fish pie

I made this a few months ago after wanting to try it for ages, since I'd never even had a fish pie before! It was just as good as i'd expected - creamy and smooth with a lot of flavour and delicious mashed potato with a crispy, cheesy layer. Perfect comfort food!

Serves 6

- 800g potatoes, peeled and chopped

- 25g butter (+ extra for potatoes)

- 25g plain flour

- 400ml milk (+ extra for potatoes)

- 100ml double cream

- around 600g fish - salmon, haddock and white fish (pollock or cod)

I bought Sainsbury's fish pie mix which is salmon, haddock and pollock ready skinned and cubed

- bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

- generous amount of cheddar cheese, grated

1. Boil the potatoes according to packet instructions.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, to make a smooth white sauce.

4. When thickened, stir in 75ml of the cream and season with salt and pepper. Mix in half the parsley.

5. Place the fish at the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Scatter over the remaining parsley then pour the white sauce on top.

6. When the potatoes are cooked and soft, mash them until smooth with butter, milk and the remaining cream.

7. Spread a layer of mashed potato on the top and fluff up with a fork.

8. Finish with a very generous layer of cheddar cheese and cook in the oven for 30 minutes (half covered with foil, half without) or until golden and the fish is cooked.

Enjoy :)

Pesto mash

This mashed potato was deliciously creamy and rich, despite not having any cream or crème fraiche in. I decided to use pesto because I've had pesto and cheddar on a jacket potato before and it was so yummy, so I knew that it would taste good in mash as well. I served this with chicken wrapped in pancetta (see previous post) and green vegetables. It's amazing that just by adding a few dollops of green pesto, you can transform a boring mash into something delicious and luxurious! You should definitely try this if you like pesto.

Serves 2
- 450-500g potatoes (I used desiree and vivaldi)
- pinch of salt
- dash of semi-skimmed milk
- knob of butter
- 1/2 small jar of green pesto (or less, or more)
- handful of cheddar, grated


1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20-25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Drain and return to the pan. Add some milk and a knob of butter and mash for a couple of minutes until smooth.
3. Add the pesto and stir in, then continue to mash - adding more butter and/or milk depending on the taste/texture you desire.
4. Put the cheddar in and continue to mash. Season to taste, and serve.

Enjoy :)