Cottage Pie With Sausage

Who says you can’t have pie on Paleo? Food doesn’t get much more savory and comforting than a hot plate full of cottage pie straight from the oven. Topped off with a creamy layer of mashed sweet potatoes, the sausage filling of this version can be spicy or mild, familiar or adventurous, exactly as you choose: it all depends on what sausage you pick. I like using game meat sausage like venison, duck, or bison, because it really adds a depth of taste that you won’t get from pork or chicken. But of course, you can also use a more conventional version if you like; the right choice of sausage is whatever sets your mouth watering the fastest.

The directions in this recipe also add another decadent ingredient: lardons. As you might be able to guess from the name, lardons are a way of enjoying bacon or other pork fat, cut in cubes, and then browned in a skillet until the cubes are crispy. They add a burst of bacon flavor to any kind of savory dish; when you add them to an already delicious mixture of sausage and vegetables, you know you’re really in for a treat.

With the deep, rich taste of the lardons and the sausage, this recipe might feel like a guilty pleasure, but that’s the great thing about Paleo: you can enjoy plenty of delicious fat knowing that it’s actually good for you. With plenty of vegetables rounding off the nutrient content, not to mention all the good stuff in the stock (if you’re making your own), there’s really no reason for the slightest hint of guilt to interrupt your enjoyment of a tasty and nourishing meal.

Cottage Pie With Sausage Recipe

Serves 6

Prep Time: 30 min.

Cooking Time: 1h 30 min.

Ingredients

• ½ lb. bacon lardons, cooked;
• 6 or 8 good quality sausages, sliced;
• 2 onions, sliced;
• 4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped;
• 1 leek, finely sliced;
• 4 cups diced tomatoes;
• 1 cup chicken stock;
• 1 tbsp. homemade Worcestershire sauce, optional;
• Cooking fat;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes;
• ½ cup clarified butter;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the sweet potatoes. Cook until tender (20 to 30 minutes), and drain the water.
2. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher, add the clarified butter, and season to taste. Set the potatoes aside.
3. Melt some cooking fat in a skillet over a medium high heat and cook the sausages until they’re browned on the outside but still uncooked in the middle (about 6 minutes). Remove the sausages from the heat.
4. In the same skillet, now over medium heat, cook the carrots, the leek, and the onions until soft (about 8 minutes).
5. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and Worcestershire sauce, if using, and bring to a simmer.
6. Return the sausages and lardons to the skillet and simmer for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
8. Transfer the sausage mixture into an ovenproof dish and spoon the mashed potatoes over it to form a crust.
9. Place in the oven for 30 minutes and bake until the mash is golden brown.
10. Let everything rest for a few minutes before serving.