#UnileverHalloween : Cottage Pie with a Pumpkin & Potato Thatch

Unilever sent me through a fabulous hamper of ingredients and challenged me to come up with a recipe (or several) for their Halloween challenge. I love the gory oozing blood detail on the box !

Inside the box were some fresh ingredients and also some store cupboard staples to get inventive with. I was very excited to spot a little Le Creuset dish too.

I decided to use some of them to create a Halloweeny twist on one of the Madhouse Family's fave meals, cottage pie. Maybe it should be renamed haunted house pie to mark the occasion ?!

Cottage Pie with a Pumpkin & Potato Thatch

ingredients :

1 pack beef mince (about 500g)

2 onions

4 large mushrooms

1 Knorr Vegetable Stock Pot

1 Knorr Garden Herbs Flavour Pot

1 sachet Colman's Shepherd's Pie Seasoning Mix

1/4 of a pumpkin

1kg potatoes

2tbsp Flora Buttery

milk

Peel and chop the potatoes and pumpkin and put it in a large pot with some salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 20 minutes until nice and soft. Drain and smash them to bits with a masher, then add the Flora Buttery and milk to create a smooth, creamy mash. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set to one side.

Meanwhile, chop the onions and mushrooms. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions and mushrooms for 2 minutes, then add the mince and cook for 10-15 minutes until completely cooked through. Add the stock pot, flavour pot and sachet of seasoning, along with 200ml water. Allow to simmer until it has reduced to a rich, moist, thick texture. Add a little extra water as needed during the cooking process.

Pour the meat mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the potato/pumpkin mash. Use a fork to flatten it and create lines. (My school dinner shepherd's pie always had this so I'm keeping the tradition alive !)

Cook in a preheated oven at 200° for 15 minutes until the top has slightly browned and the meat and mash are both piping hot. Stab with a knife to check it's hot in the middle before serving.

Disclosure : I received a hamper of ingredients to take part in the #UnileverHalloween challenge.

Linking up to this week's Foodie Friday which has a Halloween theme.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Cooking with a Tagine : Chicken & Preserved Lemon Tagine

Kiddie Kitchen Fun : Cheerios Frankenstein's Monsters

Globecooking recipe : Mansaf (Jordan)