189. Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie

This Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo, a day in which Mexican's celebrate an army victory, and what better way to celebrate halfway across the world in wet old England, than with some Mexican food?!

As both S and I are huge Mexican food fans anyway (check out my review of Zapatista Burrito Bar in Newcastle if you are too!) we don't really need an excuse to cook up a Mexican inspired feast so Tuesday night was as good a time as any to try out a new dish!

I didn't fancy a trip to the shops in the rain so instead I made do with what we had in the house and improvised to create a Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1lb/450g mince (I used half Quorn mince, half Aberdeen Angus mince)

1 x onion, diced

1 x pepper, diced

1 x handful of frozen peas

1 x tin of chopped tomatoes/passatta 

1kg potatoes (I used Maris Piper but any would do)

Kidney (or baked) beans

Oil for frying

1 x tablespoon of butter for mashed potatoes

100ml milk for mashed potatoes

80g Mexican cheese (or just use a strong Cheddar if you have chilli flakes)

Seasoning (add more or less depending on your personal tastes)

Black pepper

3tsp Ceviche seasoning

2tsp Cumin

2tsp Very Lazy Chilli

2tsp Paprika

2tsp Hot Steak spice

Jalapenos (to top)

A squirt of tomato ketchup

I used the Gourmet Kitchen 4-in-1 Mexican Seasoning Mix (available from The Range)

Method

1. Brown your mince in a large frying pan, once cooked add the onions and peppers and cook until soft

2. Once the peppers and onions have softened, put your potatoes on to boil

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, beans and any seasoning you fancy to the frying pan

4. Leave the chilli to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through

5. Mash the potatoes with the milk, butter and about 2/3 of the cheese until creamy

6. Pour the chilli into a deep baking dish and spoon the mashed potato on top

7. Garnish with the left over cheese and jalapenos, if desired

8. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees (fan oven) or 200 degrees conventional oven, for 20-30 minutes or until golden on top

9. Serve with salad

This dish should serve around 4 people. Or 2-3 people with big appetites!