Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

📝 Ingredients

• 1 kg sweet potatoes
• 600 g minced beef, 5% fat
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots (about 200 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 200 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 60 g grated Emmental
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• Salt, pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Large frying pan
• Potato masher
• Baking dish (about 20 × 30 cm)
• Colander
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into 3 cm cubes and put them in a large pan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance.
2. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel the carrots and grate them (or cut them into very small dice) so they cook quickly and melt into the meat.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion and carrots for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
4. Turn up to a high heat, add the minced beef and break it up with the wooden spoon. Let it brown for 5 to 6 minutes without stirring too much, until there's no pink left. Well-browned meat makes a tastier filling.
5. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat until well reduced: the mixture should be moist but without runny liquid, otherwise the mash will sink.
6. Drain the sweet potatoes and let them steam in the colander for 2 minutes to get rid of excess water. Warm the milk, then mash the sweet potatoes with the masher, adding the milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper, until smooth.
7. Spread the meat in an even layer in the baking dish, then cover with the mash, smoothing the surface with a fork. Sprinkle the grated Emmental evenly over the whole surface.
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 200 °C, then 2 to 3 minutes under the grill, until the cheese is nicely golden. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving so the portions hold together better.