Moroccan Shepherd’s Pie

dairy free, gluten free, gluten free recipe, grain free, moroccan, Paleo, pie, shepherds pie, sweet potato,

This is one of my favourite dishes at the moment, it’s a great hearty autumn/winter dish and the spices in this taste amazing.

I love this dish because it provides loads of left overs, I’ll often make a large tray of this and keep it in the fridge for a last minute lunch or dinner meal, sometimes even breakfast!

It’s a paleo friendly dish that is free from grains, dairy and gluten. It’s a very balanced meal with a good dose of protein from the organic lamb mince and healthy carbohydrates from the sweet potato.

x Danielle

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato or 2 medium sweet potatoes

1 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

3 teaspoons of Baharat spice mix*

500g organic lamb mince

1 jar of tomato passata

1/2 cup of dried apricots, finely chopped

1/4 cup of sultana’s

1/2 pistachio nuts or pine nuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Chop the sweet potato into large cubes (I leave the skin on) and cook in a large pot of water until tender.

While the sweet potato is cooking start with the rest of the meal.

Add the finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, olive oil and sea salt to a large saucepan.

Cook these gently over a medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add the Baharat spice mix, pepper and lamb mince, continue to cook this for a further 5 minutes allowing the meat to brown, just make sure to keep stirring it.

Add the tomato passata, dried apricots and sultanas, stir to combine. Let this simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.

Then pour the mince mixture into a ceramic casserole dish. Drain the sweet potato and mash it with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Carefully top the mince mixture with the sweet potato mash, I like to use a fork to spread it out.

To finish sprinkle with either chopped pistachio nuts or pine nuts.

Pop into the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Your shepherd’s pie is now ready to enjoy!

* Baharat Spice Mix is a blend of paprika, cumin, pepper, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. I buy mine from Harris Farm grocers at Manly or Dee Why.

If you can’t get hold of this then use the following instead:

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon of cinnamon