Madhouse recipe : Meatballs Cottage Pie

I always think of this dish as a Turkish version of Cottage Pie because meatballs in gravy topped with mashed potato was a dish I first discovered in our hotel in Fethiye this summer. Adding vegetables was my own addition but it worked really well, making it into a complete meal and getting the kids guzzling veg with gusto. In the hotel version, they used bigger meatballs and less potato (more of a potato hat than a complete covering of mash), making it easier to serve than my version.

Meatballs Cottage Pie

ingredients :

a pack of frozen meatballs (or make your own)

a pack of frozen veg

gravy

potatoes

milk

butter

salt, pepper

First of all, get the potatoes on to boil in a pan of salted water.

For speed, I used a bag of mixed frozen veg but you could use fresh. This would also be a great recipe for using up leftover cooked veg.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish and pour over some gravy. I just used instant gravy made with granules and boiling water.

Cook the meatballs. You've guessed it - for speed, I used frozen shop bought meatballs but you could make your own using mince or even sausage meat.

Arrange the meatballs on top of the veg and gravy.

Drain and mash the potatoes, using butter, milk and anything else you might want to add for extra flavour (mustard, garlic salt or parmesan, for example). Carefully place a spoonful of mash on top of each meatball. 

Pop in the oven until you're ready to eat. Juliette thought it would have been nice to add some grated cheese on top but I'm not sure about the combination of cheese and gravy - let me know if you try it !

This is fabulous as a quick midweek meal - in half an hour, it was on the table (and ten minutes later, there was nothing left but a smear of gravy in the pan !)

Adding to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because this is a great recipe for using up leftover cooked vegetables and/or mash.