Cottage pie recipe for Valentine's Day

Cooking for Valentine's Day need not be complicated. In fact, the joy is in preparing something to savour together. It's all about sharing the experience. So try this recipe for a romantic dinner.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

100g minced beef

1 small carrot, diced

1 small stick of celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp thyme, fresh or dried

salt and pepper

puff pastry

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, carrots and celery. Fry on medium heat for 5 minutes and let it sweat a little. Then add the mince and garlic, stir for 5 minutes or until the meat has turned brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into two small baking dishes; heart-shaped ramekins if you have them.

Roll the puff pastry and cut into shape to cover the top of the baking dishes. You can add pastry hearts or initials if you want make it even more special.

Pre-heat the oven as the pastry perform much better in a preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes or according to the pastry instructions.

Serve the cottage pie with salad or steamed vegetables and enjoy. You can add new potatoes if required, but do save room for pudding!

To dress up the special occasion, light a candle for the table as it always gives the room a warm glow. Use special napkins, your best glasses and china so the evening sparkles, and add a soft sound of music, low enough to allow conversation but it's there to fill the silence when you look into each other's eyes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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