Savoury Lamb Mince and Mint Jacket Potatoes, slow cooked

I was intending making shepherd's pie for dinner as I had taken lamb mince out of the freezer but I didn't really fancy it, I preferred the thought of a jacket potato, so decided to make a savoury lamb and mint mince as a topping, I also made minted peas as a side dish which went really well with the lamb mince.

I love slow cooked meals especially on chilly days so that's how I did the mince. Unfortunately my slow cooker packed in a few weeks ago and I haven't got around to buying a new one so the mince was done in the oven before the jacket potatoes.

Mince can be prepared in the morning and refrigerated when cool then reheated once the jacket potatoes are ready, make sure the mince is piping hot throughout before serving or if you have one, the mince can be cooked in a slow cooker freeing the oven up for the potatoes.

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely diced

125 g peas

1 garlic clove, crushed

500 g lamb mince

1 tbsp roast meat gravy powder

1 1/4 cup beef stock

2 1/2 tbsp mint sauce

1 tsp browning essence

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to season

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 160°C. Add 1 tbsp olive oil into a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and peas, continue cooking for a further 2-3 minutes. Add mince and brown, breaking up the lumps with a wooden spoon as you go.

2.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Add gravy powder. Stir to combine. Add stock, mint sauce, browning essence and worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. pour mixture into an oven proof casserole dish. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. Once mince is cooked, set aside to cool before storing in the fridge. Add more stock if needed.

3.  Turn heat in oven up to 200°C. Wash and dry potatoes, prick all over with a fork, place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and coat all over with oil, season well with salt and pepper. Turn oven temperature down to 190°C. Return to oven for a further 40 minutes until skin is crispy and potato is cooked.

Serve with minted mushy peas (see recipe below), salad or vegetables.

Minted Mushy Peas

Ingredients

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 tbsp mint sauce

1/2 tbsp thickened cream

Method

Cook peas according to packet directions. Drain. Using a potato masher, mash peas, mint sauce and cream together until roughly mushy. Season with salt and pepper.

It was very tasty, everyone loved the tang of the mint, this was definitely a winner!!