Cottage pie, low-cal

Adapted from The Fast Diet Recipe Book by Mimi Spencer

The low energy content in this dish is achieved by replacing the mashed potato topping with celeriac purée and leek. Using lean mince is essential. The result is still deceivingly delicious.

This recipe is great as a dinner for those on the fast diet as a single serving is less than 300 calories yet it is extremely satisfying.

We’ve cooked this recipe many times now and the result is always extremely tasty. It has become our go-to meal for a low-calorie dinner. Follow this recipe as closely as possible and you can be assured of a great result.

Time

1 hour 30 minutes total: 40 minutes attended, 50 minutes unattended

Storage notes

Keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days 

Difficulty

very easy 

Yield

2000 g (servings 4 )

Ingredients
Weight
Volume
Procedure
A
Cooking spray
as needed
1
Preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F.
2
Spray the base of a large, deep sauté pan or saucier. (Choose one with a lid, about [W4L] capacity.)
3
Set the pan over high heat.
B
Beef, extra-lean, minced
250 g
⅗ lb
4
Add to pan and fry until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
C
Onion, chopped to ⅕" / 4 mm
150 g
1 large
Carrot, chopped to ⅕" / 5 mm
200 g
2 medium
Celery, chopped to 0.1" / 3 mm
150 g
2 stalks
Mushrooms, chopped (optional)
40 g
4 small
Star anise (optional)
1 regular
5
Add to pan and stir fry until softened, about 10 minutes
6
Reduce heat to medium.
D
Water, boiling
300 g
300 ml
Beef stock cubes, such as oxo
12 g
1 piece
7
Combine and whisk to dissolve thoroughly.
8
Add to pan.
E
Canned tomatoes, chopped
400 g
1 can
Tomato paste, purée or passata
36 g
2 tbsp
Worcestershire sauce
17 g
1 tbsp
Bay leaf
0.6 g
2 leaves
Thyme, fresh, leaves only
1 g
1 tsp
Salt
2 g
½ tsp
Pepper, cayenne or black
0.3 g
1 smidgen
9
Add to pan and stir to combine.
0
Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.
-
Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Proceed with subsequent steps.
F
Celeriac, peeled and cut into 0.5" / 1.3 cm cubes
500 g
1 small
=
Boil until very tender, about 20–25 minutes. (Optionally, cook the sous vide version.)
q
Drain thoroughly. Spread on a wire rack and allow the steam to subside.
w
Mash or blend to a smooth purée. (Optionally, return purée to saucepan and stir over a low heat to drive off additional water.)
G
Crème fraïche, half-fat
100 g
⅖ cup
e
Add to purée F and stir to combine.
H
Salt
2.5 g
1¼ tsp
White pepper
0.3 g
⅛ tsp
Nutmeg (optional)
0.15 g
1 pinch
r
Add to purée F and stir to combine.
I
Oil, groundnut
5 g
1 tsp
t
Heat in a frypan over medium heat.
J
Leeks, quartered lengthways and cut into 0.1" / 3 mm slices
150 g
1 regular
Salt
1.25 g
⅛ tsp
y
Add to pan I and sauté gently until very soft, about 8 minutes.
u
Add to purée G and stir to combine.
i
Remove the star anise and bay leaves from the meat mixture E then transfer into a shallow ovenproof dish. Allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
o
Spread the celeriac purée across the top of the mixture, to cover..
p
Bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Type pie

Author

Yield

g

Servings

Serving size 500 g

Serve

Per
serve
Energy (kcal)257.5
Energy (kJ)1075.9
Protein (g)18.6
Fat (g)8.5
Carbs (g)21.4
Sugars (g)9.2
Fiber (g)7
Sodium (mg)864.3
Cholesterol (mg)49.2

Full details