Curried cottage pie recipe

This is one of our favourite recipes. I haven't included it before because I haven't often included vegetables from the garden in it. This time, because our local supermarkets no longer sell pre-chopped celery, carrot and onion, I had to chop my own and included some carrots from the garden in it.

What happens when you grow your carrots in stony ground

I also managed to include one of the milder chilis we grew.

Anyhow, here's the recipe with options for swapping things out, in case you can't get pre-processed ingredients or can and want to save time.

Curried cottage pie
Serves 6 when I serve it, could potentially serve 8 smaller appetites
Takes about 90 minutes - 2 hours

2 tbsp olive oil
750 g of minced beef (I used frozen)
120 g celery, finely chopped
120 g carrots, peeled and finely chopped

120 g onion, finely chopped (you can use a frozen/pre-chopped mix of these 3 veg, I recommend 350 g of it)
1 small chilli, with a hotness of your choice, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp mild or strong chilli powder, according to taste)

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp (mild) curry powder
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 beef stock cube
200 g passata (I freeze any leftovers in an ice cube tray)
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
optionally: 150 g of runner beans, green beans or other beans, topped and tailed and chopped
1.2 kg potatoes
700 g frozen carrot and swede mash, frozen (or 340 g carrot, 340 g swede, 20 g butter)
50 g butter
2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste.

You will need: a large pan (e.g. a casserole pot), a large oven proof dish and a potato masher.

1. Heat the olive oil in a very large pan, e.g. a casserole pot. Brown the mince. While it is browning stir occasionally and get on with the next step.
2. Finely chop the celery and peel and finely chop the 120 g of carrots and the onion. (Tip: if you have to buy more celery than you need, you can finely chop it and freeze it in bags of the right weight for next time.)

3. Once the mince is browned, set it aside (I put it in the oven-proof dish I'm going to make the curried cottage pie in).

4. Add the chopped onion, celery to the large pan and stir for a few minutes. While stirring, get on with the next step.

5. Finely chop the chili - if you can't take much chili heat like me, make sure you remove all the seeds - and add to the large pan. Feel free to use more and/or hotter chili than my recommendation if you prefer something hotter.

6. Add the coriander, cumin and curry powder and stir for one minute.
7. Add the tomato puree, stock cube, passata and Worcester sauce plus 400 ml (3/4 pint) of boiling water.

8. Return the mince to the pan and simmer for about 35 minutes. Meanwhile continue with the next step.

9. Peel the potatoes and cut into even chunks. If you are using fresh carrot and swede instead of the pre-made mash, also peel these and cut them into chunks. Boil the potatoes (and the 350 g each of carrot and swede if using fresh) for about 20 minutes until soft. While these are cooking, get on with the next step.
10. If using pre-made frozen carrot and swede mash, microwave/pan heat it as per the instructions.
11. Pre-heat your oven to 200° fan/220° non-fan.
12. If using beans, top and tail them and chop to 2-3 cm lengths.
13. Mash the potatoes (and fresh carrot and swede if using fresh), mix in the butter (70 g if using fresh carrot and swede, otherwise 50 g), nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and carrot and swede mash.
13. Season the mince mixture to taste with salt and pepper. If using beans, add the beans to it and stir, then spoon the mince mixture into the large ovenproof dish.
14. Spoon the mash over the mince mixture and spread to cover evenly.

15. Cook in oven for 25-30 minutes.