30 Jun Cottage Pie with crispy fried Green Beans & Spinach

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cottage pie

• 4 potatoes
• ½ cup milk
• Knob of butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 white onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 courgettes
• 500 g beef mince
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• ½ cup water
• 2 Tbsp tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper 
• Soy sauce
• ¼ cup grated cheese

Green beans & Spinach

• 200 g green beans 
• 60-80 g spinach leaves (Can alternatively use 2 handfuls of silverbeet)
• 2 cloves of garlic

To serve

Parsley (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel and chop the potatoes into mediums size chunks. Boil the potatoes in water for 15-20 minutes until soft. Drain, add the milk and butter and mash. 

2. Finely chop the garlic, onion and mushrooms. Grate the carrot and courgettes. Squeeze out the excess water from the courgettes. Add oil to pan and bring to medium heat. Add onions and carrots, cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add the mince to the pan and brown. 
3. Add mushrooms, courgettes, tomatoes, water and tomato sauce to the pan. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper or soy sauce to taste. Place the mince mixture into a baking dish. Spread the potato over the top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the mince mixture is bubbling and the top is golden. [Set some mince aside to cool for 9month-2 year olds]
   
   
4. With ten minutes remaining, chop the garlic. Add garlic to a pan with oil. Cut the beans at each end to remove the tips. Add the cut beans to the pan. Once beans are browned add spinach and cook until wilted. Set to the side. 
   
   
   
5. Once the pie is golden on top, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve the pie onto plates with a side of greens. 
   
   

1. For tamariki 9 – 12 months puree mashed potato, spinach and mince together. Add water to make if too dry and thick. For 2 year old cut up beans into pieces no longer than an inch in length, and plate up the mince and potato