serves 2-3:
250g lean lamb mince - £2
6-8 medium potatoes, diced - 50p
3 cloves garlic - 10p
1 onion - 16p
1 carrot - 8p
1/2 red pepper - 30p (this I had leftover so not the cheapest option)
about 120g half-fat creme fraiche - 55p
1 lamb stock cube - 10p
1 tbsp cornflour or 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour - 5p
salt and pepper to season
Olive oil to cook
stick of dried rosemary - free as I grow my own and it's practically impossible to kill.
Total cost: £3.84, per serving: £1.28
Dice potatoes into half-inch squares and put on to boil.
cook garlic and onion until starting to soften, then add mince and cook until mostly brown.
add the rosemary (minus the stalk), carrot, red pepper, the stock cube and 1/2 mugful of the potatoes' cooking water. Stir well until the stock is dissolved and then sprinkle over the flour and stir until dissolved and thickening.
Drain the potatoes and roughly mash, stir in the creme fraiche and then season well with salt and pepper.
Fill the bottom half of an oven dish with the meat-mix, then spoon the potato-mix evenly on top. Bake in the oven on a medium heat for 20 minutes or until top is browned.
To make it go further:
use a cheaper alternative to the red pepper, such as frozen or tinned peas
add more onion and carrot to bulk out the meat.
Switch the creme fraiche for a small amount of butter or margarine.
Use quorn mince, which works out cheaper, but you may need to boost the seasonings to make up for the blandness.
