11. Recipe: Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

I think we can all agree that winter is on its way out. No longer do we leave work in the dark. Each day  provides a little bit more sunshine than the last. It's like Mother Nature letting you know that the sun is back from annual leave. All he has to do is go through his cluttered inbox and he'll be back up and running in no time.

Saying that, I thought I'd sneak in a winter warmer favourite of mine, but with a bit of a twist. I use sweet potato as it more nutrient dense than normal potatoes. This dish also reheats well, meaning it makes great leftovers for the next day.

The dish consists of two main parts, the mash and the mince.

Ingredients - Mash:

1 medium sweet potato
Tasty cheese
Whole milk
Butter

The butter was stuck in traffic and couldn't make the photo - I definitely didn't forget to include it.

Method:

1. Cut up the sweet potato into chunks. The smaller the better, as it'll boil quicker.
2. Boil the sweet potato until cooked through. It'll be done when it's a dark orange colour.

ARGHH! IT'S SO HOT!! MAKE IT STOP!

3. Drain all the water out, and throw in a splash of milk, a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of cheese. Mash to your liking. I like to leave the odd lump in there, just to give it a bit of soul.

Ingredients - Mince:

500g minced beef

1tbsp BBQ sauce

1 cup Peas

1 medium onion

1 teaspoon Garlic

All ingredients included here.

1. Start by softening the onion and garlic on a low-mid heat.

2. When it starts smelling like Bunnings on a Saturday, throw in the mince and peas. Use a wooden spoon to break the mince up as it cooks. When it's cooked, add the BBQ sauce. That's literally it.

 Do you mince, take mash to be your delicious accompaniment? In flavour and in nutrition - till Loic eat you apart?

Without stating the obvious, layer the mince in a dish first.

Then the mash. Use the back of a spoon to smooth it over.

And if you're a loser like me, dust the top with some paprika for aesthetic value!

Maybe winter isn't so bad after all! Just kidding - winter can take long service leave as far as I'm concerned. I'll be doing an extra update on Sunday. I was supposed to get it done a week ago but I've been sick with the man flu. Curses.

Loic