Versatile cottage pie

I made this partly from scratch (the mashed potato) and various leftovers (a cup of leftover eggplant/tomato sauce and 2 cups of a beef filling I prepared for H's burritos lunch). You could easily substitute sauteed ground lamb or even cubed chicken breasts sauteed in cream with some mushrooms and carrots. Easy-peasy.

A bit of coriander -- home-grown! -- went into my beef burrito filling.



I used yellow peppers for colour...



Threw in frozen peas and carrots to add some veggy goodness:



And here's the pie before it went in the oven:




But if you wanted to make it from scratch, this is how you could do it:

Versatile cottage pie
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
560g/1¼ lb ground beef
400g/14oz canned tomatoes
290ml beef stock
1 bay leaf
fresh thyme leaves, about a teaspoon
2 tbsp tomato purée
salt and pepper to taste

For the mashed potato topping:
750g potatoes, about 3 large
1/3 cup milk
a knob of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add the garlic and saute a couple of minutes.
4. Add the ground beef and cook for 3-5 minutes until browned.
4. Add the tomatoes, purée, beef stock, bay leaf and thyme.
5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season.
6. Make the mash: boil the potatoes in water until soft. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Spoon the meat into an ovenproof dish. Top with the mash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.