This dish is my Italian take on a traditional and much loved British classic – cottage pie. A rich tomato sauce with beans galore topped with a crispy herby mash. If you want to make it a little bit more decadent you could add a dash of red wine to the sauce. Crisp greens on the side are the perfect addition…
You can thank me later!
Ingredients:
- 2 cartons of chopped tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tin of kidney beans,
- 1 tin borlotti beans
- 1 tin flagelot beans
- 1 tsp. each dried basil & oregano
- Salt & pepper
- 5 large red potatoes (or any that are good for mashing)
- Extra virgin olive oil & regular olive oil
- Fresh basil (handful)
- Cumin
- Dried chilli flakes
- Red wine – optional
Method:
- Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and translucent (not the virgin olive oil)
- Add the tomatoes and salt, bring to the boil 5 minutes and then turn it down – at this point I use a hand blender or potato masher to grind the tomatoes up as I like a fine sauce without lumps
- Add the beans, fresh basil and a pinch of dried herbs & chilli – stir
- Put the lid on the sauce pan and leave to simmer for at least an hour – ensure you stir it every 15 minutes to avoid the tomatoes or beans catching on the bottom of the pan and burning
- Whilst the sauce is simmering, prep the potatoes. Peel and chop into quarters cover with cold water and put then boil. I usually let them boil for 10 minutes then simmer which takes the red potatoes approximately 40 minutes to get soft & fluffy
- Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency put in an oven proof dish
- Mash the potatoes, add a pinch of oregano, salt & pepper, a dash of olive oil (2 tbsps approx) and mash the potatoes until creamy and fluffy. You can also add a little nut milk to make it extra creamy.
- Put the mash onto the beans and tomatoes and place in a pre heated oven set at 400ºF for about 25 minutes or until brown and crispy on top
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 4+