Page title and description

Meat mains
Beef and lentil cottage pie
Cook's notes
Ideally, leave the mince and lentil mixture to cool before topping it with the mash, this will help prevent the mixture bubbling up over the topping.Ingredients
- oil for frying e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 400g beef mince
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 1 celery stick, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
- a small glass (125ml) of red wine (or use more stock)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 300ml beef or chicken stock, plus a little extra if needed (or use water)
- leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
- 1 bay leaf
- 100g dark speckled (puy style) lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-3cm dice
- a good knob or two of butter
- a splash of milk
- small piece of cheddar, grated (optional)
- salt and pepper
Method
Prep time:
15 min
PT15M
Cooking time:
1h
10 min
PT1H10M
-
Step 1
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy-based pan and fry the mince to brown it all over. Transfer the meat to a bowl. -
Step 2
Add a splash more oil, the onion, carrot and celery to the pan. Fry gently for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes. -
Step 3
Return the mince to the pan. Add the wine, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. -
Step 4
Add the stock, thyme, bay leaf and lentils. Bring up to a low boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the lentils are just tender and the sauce has reduced. You may need a little more stock or water towards the end. You want a sloppy, but not too wet a consistency. -
Step 5
While the lentils cook, boil the potatoes (or root veg) in a pan of well-salted water until soft (12-15 minutes), then drain, leave in the colander for 2 minutes for excess water to evaporate, then mash with butter and a splash of milk, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. -
Step 6
Remove the bay leaf from the lentils once cooked and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Spread over the mash to evenly cover the mince, spiking it up with a fork (this helps it crisp up). -
Step 7
Sprinkle with the cheese if using. Bake at 200°C until the topping is golden (20-25 minutes).