This is my healthier version of a classic Argentinian dish called ‘Pastel de Papas’. You may know it as ‘Shepherd's Pie’. Why do I say healthier version? I like swapping the potato mash, from the original recipe, with sweet potato as sweet potato is a little lower in carbohydrates. Also, we don’t eat cows or pork or lamb meat at home, so I make it with lean kangaroo mince. If you are not in Australia you can use bison or another lean meat (game). Why kangaroo you must be wondering? Kangaroos are an abundant species. They can’t be farmed and have to be caught in the wild, so the meat is free of the antibiotics and grains that farms feed their livestock.  I don’t use dairy milk to make the mash, in fact, there is no dairy milk in our house at all, I simply make it with a little bit of water and almond milk if I have it in the fridge. This is a delicious meal for those winter nights!

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

• 500 g kangaroo mince or another lean mince of your choice

• 1 cup (140 g) pitted kalamata olives

• 1 kg sweet potato peeled and chopped in squares

• ⅓ cup almond milk or water

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp sweet paprika

• 1 tsp nutmeg ground

Preparation

1. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. In a large saucepan, cook the garlic with the coconut oil on medium heat until golden colour. Drain your mince if it has a lot of liquid and add to the saucepan with the paprika and nutmeg. Cook without a lid in medium heat until the mince is tender. Stir every now and then so the mince cooks evenly. Set aside. Try not to overcook the mince as it will still cook more when placed in the oven.

2. Chop the pitted olives and add to the mince in the saucepan.

3. Preheat oven to 170 C (335 F)

4. Peel and wash the sweet potatoes. Chop in 3x3 cm squares. In a medium pot, add 2 cups of water, a steaming basket and place the chopped sweet potatoes. Cook until soft. Drain the water and mash the sweet potatoes with a masher, add the almond milk and sea salt, and stir. Set aside. If you don’t have a steamer basket you can simply boil the chopped sweet potato until soft.

5. In a loaf pan add first the meat with the olives then add the sweet potato mash on top spreading it evenly. With a fork comb the top of the mash marking vertical and horizontal lines to draw a pattern, this is fun with the kids!

6. Bake for 45 minutes. The top of the sweet potato mash should be crisp and golden in colour.