I’ve been working with QMS of late, developing recipes for their Good Family Food kitchen with an emphasis on weaning. First up is a delicious cottage pie recipe with a twist. But wait! This cottage pie recipe with creamy, cheesy, sweet potato mash is not just for babies.
It’s loved by everyone in my family, even those with their full set of teeth. And it’s an easy cottage pie recipe to make too – so much so, you could happily make two and pop one in the freezer for another day.
And if mince isn’t your thing, then stewing steak could happily be used instead. In fact any beef cut that responds well to long and slow cooking is perfect. Just make sure you gently stew the beef at a low temperature, in the oven, for a couple of hours, until it falls apart easily. Then top with sweet potato mash and finish the pie off in the oven for a crispy lid. Fork or spoon waves in the mash are entirely at your discretion.
We made a video of the cottage pie recipe too, along with some sweet potato fries if your little one is into feeding themself. You can see it below:
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available through Amazon).
One year ago: Homemade Oreos and Ombre cake and Lemon and coconut cake and Jaffa cakes and All my weaning recipes in one place
Two years ago: Carrot & almond layer cake and Pecan & hazelnut granola and Banana & toffee muffins and Lemon drizzle loaf
Three years ago: Lemon animal biscuits and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and 5 ways with the humble Victoria sponge
Four years ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and fleur de sel biscuits
Five years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
This recipe for cottage pie makes about 15 servings for a baby/toddler or serves 2 – 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 – 4 children
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped (about 65g)
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped (about 50g)
- 1 carrot, peeled, topped and tailed and finely chopped (about 65g)
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 250g Scotch beef mince
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 300ml hot beef stock (made using low salt baby stock cubes, or homemade)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
- 1 bay leaf (dried is fine)
- 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes (about 625g in peeled weight)
- 20g butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- 70g Cheddar cheese, grated
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and add the onion, celery and carrot. Fry for 5 minutes until soft. Add the black pepper, garlic and Scotch minced beef and fry until the mince is browned. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the mince, stir and fry for a minute before adding the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Add the herbs and leave to simmer for 5 minutes before removing the bay leaf and pouring into a casserole dish approximately 20cm x 10cm x 5cm.To make the topping, boil the sweet potatoes until tender then mash with the butter, milk and cheese until smooth. Spoon over the top of the pie and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/fan 160/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes. If you’re weaning with puree, simply blitz the cottage pie in a food processor with the blade attachment or use a stick blender. Portion into ice cube trays, freeze and then once frozen transfer into freezer bags.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 - 4
- 1 sweet potato, washed and cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6. Toss the wedges in the oil and garlic. Place on a non-stick baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes until crisp on the outside and cooked through. (Use a sharp knife to test). Allow to cool a little before serving to babies and children, as wedges retain their heat.
This post was supported by QMS.
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Holly Bell 