Staple with a twist

Who doesn’t love Shepherd’s Pie.  A simple, cheap and filling family meal that doesn’t last long in our household.

I find, though, that the mashed potato topping whilst a hit with teenage boys, is too heavy for me for dinner, and not needed for hubby’s waistline!  The other night, with an ailing cauliflower in the fridge, I decided to top with mashed cauliflower.

One of my son’s is completely allergic to vegetables (not really but anything green or not cheese, meat or chocolate is not worthy of the plate!).  He loved this and as you can see from the photo there was not much left after dinner.

Shepherd’s Pie with cauliflower mash topping

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and chopped coarsely
• 40g butter
• ¼ cup Parmesan, grated
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 800g beef mince
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons stock (I used 2 beef stock cubes and a dash of water)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons thyme

Cook the cauliflower until completely tender, drain and transfer to food processor.  Puree with the butter, parmesan and milk until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside and keep warm.

In a saucepan fry the onion in oil, add the mince.  When the mince is partially cooked add the carrot and cook until tender.  Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and thyme.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid reduces slightly, but the mince is still covered.  Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mince to a casserole dish.

Spread the cauliflower mash over the top of the mince.

Place under the grill for about 3 minutes or until you see some brown patches appear and it starts to bubble.

Remove from the oven and serve.

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