French cottage pie

 French cottage pie, Hachis Parmentier, was created in Paris. It honours the pharmacist Antoine- Augustine Parmentier who made potatoes popular in France. He thought that potatoes would end the famine cycles in France. 

The original dish was based on potato purée and minced meat. Nowadays some chefs experiment with new vegetables. I twisted the recipe with sweet potato purée and used very lean minced meat for a healthier and more modern variant.

2 servings

About 350 g lean minced meat, 5% fat

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

For the sweet potato purée:

2 small or 1 large sweet potato

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. bread crumbs

Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into chunks. Cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes until soft. Discard the water saving about 4 tbsp. for he purée. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and crush into a purée.

Warm 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium- high heat in a frying pan and fry the meat until it starts to get a bit of colour. Lower the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, herbs, and black pepper. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes stirring now and again.

Preheat the oven to 200° C. Oil a smallish gratin dish. Place a thin layer of the purée in the bottom, cover with the minced meat and top with a layer of the rest of the purée. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and cook in the oven for 15- 20 minutes.

Serve with a green side salad.