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Butternut Squash Cottage Pie (0 syns)

This is the best and easiest Cottage Pie recipe ever. The mash is gorgeous, the filling is gorgeous, the whole dish is simply devine. A comforting dish for an autumnal evening. Replacing the traditional potato topping with butternut squash not only adds flavour but cuts the calories too. And don’t forget – you can use this butternut squash mash as an accompaniment to other dishes too. And the dish freezes well. Try topping 2 if you are doing an SP day on Slimming World.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine English
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 500-750 g lean mince beef
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed (or 1 large frozen cube)
  • 2 onions peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 carrots finely cubed
  • 2 celery sticks sliced
  • Handful or two of mushrooms quartered optional
  • Courgette x 1 diced optional
  • 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 3-4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 200 ml 5fl oz vegetable stock (use 1 stock gel in 200ml water)
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary = 2 tsp of the dried stuff - alternatively you can use 1tbsp of fresh rosemary leaves (=1 sprig) plus 1 tbsp fresh thyme.
  • Tabasco to taste (about 0.5 tsp) – taste after you added and mixed it up.
  • Flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped, handful
  • 1 tsp celery salt if you have it, otherwise use 1 tsp normal salt
  • 0.5 tsp pepper

TOPPING 1 - butternut squash-potato mix (delicious)

  • 1 medium sized butternut squash peeled and the seeds removed (you can peel a butternut squash with a good potato peeler)
  • 4 potatoes (medium)
  • An equal size to the butternut squash of potatoes (about 3 large ones).
  • Pinch of ground ginger optional

TOPPING 2 - speed food

  • Suede x 1
  • Carrots x 8

Method

TOPPING 1 - butternut squash & potato mash

  1. Boil the butternut squash.
  2. Boil the potatoes
  3. Mash each. (If you’ve got a potato ricer – even better, makes perfect mash)
  4. Mix the two mashes. Add a sprinkling of ginger (optional).
  5. Add fromage frais (or beaten egg), season with salt and pepper and mash some more. (optional)
  6. Layer onto the Beef mince.

TOPPING 2 - super speed

  1. Put the suede into the microwave resting on its belly. Microwave for 20 minutes. The suede will sing - don't be alarmed.
  2. Also put 8 sliced carrots on the boil for 20 minutes.
  3. When suede is done, remove, cut in half and scoop out the flesh into a pan. Add the carrots and mash the two together.
  4. Add fromage frais (or beaten egg), season with salt and pepper and mash some more. (optional)
  5. Layer onto the Beef mince.

THE FILLING

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6).
  2. Fry off over a low heat and the garlic, onion, carrots and celery for 7-10 minutes, or until softened.
  3. Then Add the mince beef and fry until coloured, breaking up any lumps.
  4. Now add the chopped tomatoes.
  5. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, stock and rosemary, then bring to the boil.
  6. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half.
  7. Season to taste with a dash of Tabasco and salt and pepper (0.5 tsp each, perhaps upto 1 tsp of the salt?). Taste!
  8. Stir in the parsley.
  9. Spoon the beef mixture into a medium pie dish and top with your chosen mash.
  10. Bake for 25-30 minutes.