Ingredients

Method

• 400 g beef mince
• 125 g streaky bacon, chopped
• 40 g butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 50 g tomato paste
• 250 ml good-quality beef stock
• 3 fresh thyme large sprigs, chopped
• 200 g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1x400 can chopped tomatoes
• 3 fresh origanum large sprigs, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cauliflower head, broken into florets
• 2 free-range egg yolks
• 100 g butter
• Ground nutmeg, to taste

Method

Ingredients

Sauté the mince and bacon in the butter in a medium-sized, heavy-based frying pan until golden brown.

Once the mince has browned, remove it from the pan and add the onion and celery.

Sauté the onion and celery in the fat until golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic.

Return the mince to the pan, add the tomato paste and stir until a dark sediment collects on the base of the pan (this sediment gives the mince an amazing roasted flavour).

Add the beef stock, thyme, mushrooms and canned tomato and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour. Add the origanum and season to taste.

Steam the cauliflower until very soft. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and purée until smooth. While the blender is running, add the egg yolks.

Add the butter, one knob at a time, until it has melted and the mixture is smooth. Season with nutmeg to taste.

To assemble the cottage pie, fill a lasagne or pie dish with the mince and smooth the top. Top with the cauliflower purée and press the classic fork pattern into the top. Place it under the grill for 15 minutes until golden brown.

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Recipe reproduced with permission from The Real Meal Revolution by Tim Noakes, Sally-Ann Creed, David Greer and Jonno Proudfoot. Photograph: Craig Fraser.