Beef & Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

Ingredients

• 600 g beef mince, 15–20% fat
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 300 ml beef stock, hot
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 200 g frozen peas
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 40 g unsalted butter
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh chives, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Pat the mince dry and season generously with salt and pepper — water on the surface means steam, and steam means no browning.
2. Heat a large ovenproof pan over high heat. Brown the mince in two batches, 3–4 minutes each, until the pieces are properly bronzed and crusty. Crowd the pan and the meat boils in its own water rather than browning — those dark stuck bits are the flavour foundation. Lift out, drain off any excess fat, and leave the fond in the pan.
3. Drop the heat to medium, add a splash of oil if the pan looks dry, and cook the onions, carrots and celery for 6–8 minutes until softened and starting to catch at the edges. Stir in the garlic, tomato puree and thyme and cook for 30 seconds — just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic colour past pale gold or the whole pie turns bitter.
4. Return the mince to the pan. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and hot beef stock, scraping up every brown stuck bit from the base — that's where the depth lives. Scatter in the lentils, bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have collapsed and the gravy coats the back of a spoon. Stir through the frozen peas. Taste, season, taste again — adjust the salt now, not at the table.
5. Meanwhile, cook the sweet potatoes in a large pan of well-salted boiling water for 12–15 minutes, until a knife slides through with no resistance. Drain thoroughly and let them steam-dry in the colander for a minute — wet potatoes make a sloppy topping. Mash smooth with the butter and milk, then season with salt until the mash tastes properly of itself.
6. Spoon the mash over the filling and spread evenly right to the edges, sealing the gravy in. Drag a fork across the surface in long ridges — those peaks are what crisp into golden tips in the oven.
7. Bake for 25–30 minutes until the topping is burnished gold and the filling bubbles thickly around the rim. Rest for 5 minutes off the heat so the gravy settles and the slices hold their shape.
8. Serve straight from the dish onto warm plates, finish each portion with a heavy crack of black pepper and a generous scatter of chopped chives over the golden top.