Ultimate cottage pie with black pudding

Name: Ultimate cottage pie with black pudding
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs; 250 g Maris Piper potatoes, cut into 5–6cm (2in) chunks; salt and pepper to season; 500 g sweet potatoes, cut into 5–6cm (2in) chunks; 3 rashers of rindless streaky bacon, diced; cooking oil for frying; 2 tbsp grated strong Cheddar cheese; about 50 g butter; 500 g lean minced beef; 1 large onion, finely chopped; a pinch of dried or 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme; 100 g black pudding; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes; 1 celery stick, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, crushed

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Prue

By Prue Leith

Published 2018

About

Cottage pie can be a sorry affair: grey, wet mince under watery mash, neither with much flavour. Or it can be sublime: rich, dark mince with creamy mash and a crusty, cheesy top. It’s all in the frying, so follow the instructions below and never mind if the cooker top ends up a mess.

Ingredients

cooking oil for frying
500 g lean minced beef
100 g black pudding

Main course
Pie

Method

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy-based frying pan. If the mince is in a lump, flatten it on a plate. If it is in a supermarket pack, keep it flat. Press the slab of mince into the really hot pan using a fish slice, and leave it there, without fiddling with it, for 2 minute