Although Toe Toe Moto doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a fruit, he does understand that sometimes you have to hide kids’ five-a-day in food. Shepherd’s pie is easy, stuffed full of goodness, and you can freeze it so you can make it in advance.
| Preparation time less than 30 mins | Cooking time 10 to 30 minutes |
| Serves serves 5-6 | Dietary ~ |
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Affordability Rating
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In Toe Toe’s opinion, a good healthy pie is a food you can share with everyone, no matter their pear-ference! You can substitute the lamb mince and stock with beef mince and stock. You can swap out the meat entirely for a vegetarian alternative.
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Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 400g/14oz lamb mince
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 carrots (approximately 100g/3½oz each), peeled, finely grated
- 2 courgettes (approximately 175g/6oz each), peeled, finely grated
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 200ml/7fl oz just-boiled water
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 lamb stock cube
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping
A tip from Toe Toe Moto: I used to worry that my friends would think my favourite dish looked boring! Try using a fork to make ridges or patterns in the potato topping and sprinkle some parsley on top.
- 800g/1lb 12oz floury potatoes, peeled, chopped into cubes
- 50g/2oz butter (unsalted)
- 4 tbsp milk
- 100g/3½oz reduced-fat mature Cheddar, coarsely grated
- 1 small cauliflower (approximately 650g/1lb 7oz), trimmed, stalk removed, finely grated
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Method
- Clean, clean, clean! Clean down all your work surfaces.
- Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Heat a large, non-stick saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and mince and dry-fry for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly until the mince has browned.
- Sprinkle the flour over the lamb and stir well. Add the carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, tomato purée, water and herbs and stir again to combine. Crumble over the stock cube, season with salt (not too much!) and pepper.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce has thickened and the vegetables have almost completely broken down.
- Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until soft but not falling apart.
- Transfer the filling mixture to a 2 litre/3½ pint shallow ovenproof dish and place on a baking tray.
- Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Add the butter and mash until smooth, then beat in the milk until fluffy (we like fluffy).
- Stir in half of the cheese. Mix in the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Add a little extra milk if required (if it seems too lumpy or not fluffy enough).
- Spoon the mash on top of the lamb and spread evenly. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and turned golden-brown and the filling is bubbling.
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Eating healthy doesn’t have to be an expensive ordeal. In fact, it doesn’t have to be an ordeal at all! Each Veginom recipe is rated from 1 to 3, with 1s as simple healthy dishes scrapped together for cheap, and 3s to splash out and impress any you are cooking for!
We at Veginom want to help you and your children’s health in any way we can! Promoting a healthy lifestyle is our goal for the future of today’s children. If you need any further assistance, then feel free to contact us here.