Little Twist on a Cottage Pie With Thomasina Miers HD

This delicately flavoured take on a classic cottage pie disguises cauliflower on its base and is sweetened with cherry tomatoes and pomegranate molasses. The tahini-rich topping makes it incredibly rich in calcium too. Serves 4–6 For the spice mix (NB this makes the required 2 tbsp of spice mix but you could make a bigger batch to perk up other mid-week meals) sprinkle of dried, ground black pepper sprinkle of dried, ground cardamom seeds sprinkle of dried, ground cassia bark (or cinnamon) sprinkle of dried, ground cloves sprinkle of dried, ground coriander seeds sprinkle of dried, ground cumin seeds sprinkle of dried, ground nutmeg sprinkle of dried, ground paprika (or dried chilli) 1 small cauliflower (leaves removed) 3-4 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper to season 1 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 500g minced beef 2 tbsp pine nuts 200g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 2 big handfuls of parsley leaves, roughly chopped 200g Greek yoghurt 100g tahini 2 eggs A squeeze of lemon juice To make the spice mix, simply combine all the ground ingredients in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7 and cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Cut the cauliflower in half, then slice it through the stem into 1/2cm-thick slabs. A few florets will fall away, but don’t worry. Spread out the cauliflower slabs and little florets in a single layer on the baking tray and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and roast at the top of the oven for 20 minutes until just tender and the edges are a little burnt. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onions and garlic until soft, 8-10 minutes, seasoning generously with salt and pepper at the beginning. Turn the heat up to high, then add the beef mince and fry, stirring constantly, breaking up the meat into tiny crumbs with a wooden spoon. When the beef is cooked through and beginning to colour, stir in the spice mix and pine nuts and cook for another couple of minutes until it begins to smell fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes, the pomegranate molasses and a small splash of water and simmer for a further 3 minutes before stirring in half the parsley. Check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and turn the temperature down to 180C/350F/gas 4. Spread the cauliflower over the base of a small baking dish and spoon the beef over the top. Beat together the yoghurt, tahini, eggs and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Thin with a few splashes of water so that it’s thick like Greek yoghurt. Spread over the beef, then place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and the top is set. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and dish up with some greens or a salad.