← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 60 g Butter
• 200 ml Milk, warmed
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 750 g Minced beef
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tsp dried thyme or herbes de Provence
• 1 Bay leaves
• 150 ml Beef stock
• 1 handful Parsley, chopped
• 60 g gruyère or emmental, grated
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15–20 min until completely tender. Drain, let them steam dry for 2 min, then mash with the butter, warm milk, nutmeg and plenty of seasoning.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for 8 min until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
3. Turn the heat up, add the mince and break it up. Fry for 8–10 min until browned and any liquid has cooked off.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme, bay and stock and simmer for 10 min, until juicy but not wet. Remove the bay, stir in the parsley and season.
5. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). Spread the meat in a dish about 20 x 30 cm, spoon the mash over, rough up the top with a fork and scatter with cheese.
6. Bake for 25–30 min, until golden and bubbling at the edges. Rest for 5 min before serving with a green salad.

Tips

• French cooks often make it with leftover pot-au-feu or roast beef, finely chopped instead of mince.
• Check the stock is gluten-free if you need it to be.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

French Today Krumpli Entertaining with Beth