Colorful Cottage Pie

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 700 g minced beef
• 1 ½ kg potatoes, floury
• 6 carrots
• 2 bell peppers, red
• 4 mushrooms
• 1 gr. can/n peas
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 leek(s)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 400 ml water
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 2 tbsp butter
• 250 ml milk
• 1 tbsp oil
• e.g. cinnamon
• e.g. nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• Fat for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes

Peel and chop the potatoes, and boil in plenty of salted water for 20-30 minutes. Peel and slice the carrots. Wash, trim, and finely chop the bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic, leeks, and spring onions. Brown the minced meat, along with the spring onions and garlic, in hot oil until crumbly. Use a whisk to get the minced meat nice and crumbly. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. When cooked through, add the remaining vegetables and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, deglaze with the water, and once boiling, add the vegetable stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the liquid is completely absorbed. It should form a thick paste. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika. When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and mash the potatoes, do not puree them. Add the butter and milk and stir again. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Place the minced meat and vegetable mixture into a greased baking dish and press down firmly with a tablespoon. Spread the mashed potatoes on top. Place the baking dish in the oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat) for 30 minutes. Then bake at 100°C (212°F) for a further 20 minutes, until the mashed potatoes are firm and golden brown. If you like, you can of course top the cottage pie with cheddar cheese and vary the vegetables. Since I like it quite spicy, I like to add jalapeños and Hokkaido pumpkin. The cottage pie should be well seasoned. I use quite a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can adjust this to your own taste. The cottage pie tastes best warmed the next day, as it will be a bit firmer.