Cottage Pie

Serves 4-6

Cottage pie is the ultimate comfort food, and you can satisfy vegans and meat eaters with this recipe. It has plenty of rich and umami flavours in the sauce.

For the mince:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 1 carrot, finely diced

• 1 parsnip, finely diced

• ½ swede, finely diced

• 1 tbsp dried thyme

• 200g (7 oz) soya mince, hydrated as per packet instructions

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Marmite

• 120ml (4 fl oz) red wine

• 600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock

• 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with

2 tbsp water

For the mash:

• 500g (17.5 oz) potatoes, peeled and chopped

500g (17.5 oz) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

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1 To make the mince, add the oil to a saucepan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, parsnip, swede and thyme to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the soya mince, soy sauce, Marmite, red wine and stock then bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the corn flour and whisk until thickened, season to taste.

2 For the mash, add the potato and sweet potato to a pan of boiling water and bring to the boil. Boil for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Drain and mash the potatoes, season to taste.

3 Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F/Gas 4. Add the mince to an ovenproof dish, then top with the mash, place into the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden and the dish is piping hot.

Recipe by Vegan Life in-house chefs.