Cottage pie for all the family

A well-made cottage pie oozes flavour and makes a simple but sensational family meal.

Just follow our easy recipe and you'll be able to create this tasty dish from scratch every time.

And best of all, it takes less than an hour to cook!

Ingredients

• 4 baking potatoes
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 peeled and finely chopped carrot
• 200g chopped button mushrooms
• 2 sticks finely chopped celery
• 500g minced beef
• 300ml gravy (made from granules or powder)
• 1 knob of butter
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (optional)
• Grated cheese

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into small pieces. Cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain, and leave in the pan with the lid on to steam dry.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, and add all the chopped vegetables. Sweat gently for 10 minutes until soft. Add the mince and cook until brown.
4. Pour over the gravy. Cook for 5 minutes and season to taste. Pour the mince mix into an ovenproof dish (or even individual dishes) and leave to cool slightly.
5. Meanwhile, mash the potatoes with the butter and seasoning. Spread over the mince, and top with grated cheese, if you like.
6. Cook for 35-40 minutes and serve with baked beans.

Twist: Just swap beef for lamb if you want to make shepherds pie.