My Little Chef - "Piggy" Pie

With Will experimenting and looking for a new recipe last week it has been nice that he's gone back to a winter family favourite this week!

Hannah doesn't eat a lot of meat but she does enjoy pork when we do have it. However, Will had the idea of doing Shepherds Pie. After discussing the naming of both Shepherds Pie and Cottage Pie he decided it would work perfectly well for a "Piggy" Pie. 

Ingredients

Pork Mince

Onions

Peas

Carrots

Potatoes 

Swede

Gravy granules 

Bovril

Chopped Tinned Tomatoes 

Thyme

Oregano 

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Resources

Cutting Board

Sharp Knife

Saucepan x2
Oven/Casserole Dish
Utensils

Method

Will started off by peeling and then slicing the potatoes. Once he had done enough he put them in a saucepan.

We were lucky to have Swede prepped and placed in the freezer so he added them to the pan of potatoes and placed them on boil.

Will then sliced the onions into thick slices.

Will was specific in how he wanted the carrots. So he peeled them, cut them in half into batons and then cut the strips into cubes. (Apparently every "Shepherds pie" should have chunky carrots!)

Using another saucepan Will added some oil and then lightly fried the pork mince. Once cooked he added the sliced onions.

With the mince and onions now cooked Will started on the gravy. He used 2 tablespoons of gravy granules and added one tablespoon of Bovril to a jug and then filled it with hot water. He then stirred to mix the gravy and Bovril together.

Will then added the gravy and one tin of chopped tomatoes to the saucepan with the mince and onions.

With the hob on low he heated the mince, onion, gravy and tomatoes. He then added peas and the carrots and let them boil a little. Will said he wanted the carrots soft but crunchy.

He now wanted to add the herbs and spices to the saucepan with the mince and vegetables. Will added 2 pinches of salt and pepper. He then added one teaspoon of garlic, thyme and oregano.

Once the potatoes and swede were ready Will added some butter and with a fork mashed the two together.

We then helped Will put the different saucepans into the oven dish. We poured the mince, onions, peas, carrots, tomatoes and gravy in first and then layered the swede and mash on top. With a fork Will marked the top and placed it under the grill to brown.

Despite it being a family favourite and a hit it had been a while since we actually ate it. To have it again was a real winter warmer; so much so we all had second helpings!

Making it a "Piggy Pie" really didn't make any difference to the meal. In fact, if you served it I don't think anyone would know that it was pork.

So what do you think? Will you be adding this to your meal plan this week?