Hearty Beef Cottage Pie

To prepare the ingredients, halve and finely slice the leek. Peel and grate the carrot, and peel and crush the garlic. Thinly slice the potatoes, grate the cheese, and finely chop the parsley for garnish.

Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the leek and carrot and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the beef mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Add the plain flour and cook stirring for 30 seconds. Combine the beef stock powder and hot water, then add to the pan with the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. This would be a good time to slice the potatoes. Stir in the baby spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mince mixture to individual ovenproof ramekins or an appropriate-sized baking dish. No need to grease it! Top the mince mixture with the potato slices overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and cook for 20 minutes in the oven or until the cheese is golden and the potatoes are tender.