Chicken Cottage Pie, And The Book Hand In

Ingredients

Cooks in:20 - 25 minutes        Serves:6

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 de-boned, skinless chicken breasts (preferable free-range), cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10-12 leeks, chopped (leave out the dark green last third of each one)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1/3 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 3 Tbsp natural yoghurt
• 2 Tbsp chutney
• 1 tsp cornflour, mixed in with 2 Tbsp cold water
• About 6 courgettes, chopped
• 1/2 tin drained sweetcorn
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sweet Potato Topping

• 4-5 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheese

What to do

For the Sweet Potato Topping
1. Half-fill a medium-sized pot with boiling kettle water on medium-high heat. Add in the potatoes and a good pinch of salt and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain, mash along with the butter and milk and set aside.

Meanwhile, for the Chicken Filling
1. Pre-heat your oven's grill to highest setting.
In a medium-sized pot on medium-high heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and brown the chicken, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.

2. Add a little more olive oil and brown the onions for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften, then add the leeks, garlic, thyme and and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Pour in the stock, simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the yoghurt, chutney, courgettes, sweetcorn and chicken and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.

3. Add in the cornflour, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes then remove and transfer the mixture to a large shallow casserole dish. Top with the mashed sweet potato, sprinkle with the cheese and just before serving, grill until the cheese is golden, about 5 minutes.

Serving Ideas: With plump green peas and maybe a spicy chutney on the side.

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