Recipe- Cottage Pie

The other day I made a delicious cottage pie for dinner! We love going to our local authentic Irish pub, and the traditional fare served there, which inspired me to make cottage pie at home. For those who don't know, cottage pie is very similar to shepherd's pie, the main difference being the meat used in shepherd's is lamb, and cottage pie is made with beef. I searched around online and found a good basic recipe that I modified for our use.

I used 1lb of ground beef, browned with salt, pepper, dried crushed bay leaves, dried marjoram and dried savory. Once the beef was browned, I moved it to a casserole dish. I didn't have time to chop the onions, so I added dried minced onion. I added chopped carrots, but no peas since we have allergies. I also put in one cup of beef broth, 1 T of ketchup, and 1 T of Lea and Perrins and mixed thoroughly. I prepared 2 pouches of instant garlic mashed potatoes and spread them ontop. Then put the casserole in the oven for the suggested 20 minutes at 375 (note that we are at altitude.)

It turned out so delicious that I know we'll be eating it again soon! One of the great things about cottage pie is that it is rather inexpensive to make, and you can always add in vegetables and such that you have on hand!

Here is the original recipe that I modified:

Cottage Pie Recipe

Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie are very similar. Shepherd's Pie is made from lamb whereas Cottage Pie uses beef. In this version of Cottage Pie we use fresh minced beef, however you can also use leftover Roast Beef.

• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 500 grams / 1 lb of beef mince
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce (ketchup)
• ½ to 1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce (Lee & Perins)
• ½ cup of peas
• ½ cup of corn kernels (optional)
• 1 bouquet garni or a small bunch of herbs chopped finely and one whole bay leaf
• ¾ to 1 cup of beef stock
• 3 to 4 large potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• salt and pepper

Peel and chop the onion and carrot finely. Heat the oil in a large frypan or saucepan, add the onion and cook until the onion is clear or translucent. Add the minced beef and sauté using a wooden spoon break up the mince so it is nice and fine. When the mince is thoroughly browned stir through the flour and cook for one minute. Add the tomato sauce, Worcester sauce, finely chopped carrot, peas, corn and herbs. Stir thoroughly to combine. Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cover, simmering for 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be quite thick. Remove and discard the bouquet garni or whole bay leaf and set mixture aside.

Peel the potatoes, chop into quarters and place in a medium saucepan with cold water just covering the potatoes. Add a little salt to the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and place back on the heat for a few seconds to let any extra water evaporate. Mash the potatoes with one tablespoon of butter until the potato is very creamy - add a little milk if necessary. Add salt to taste.

Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F or gas mark 5. Spoon the mince mixture into a pie dish, then spoon or pipe the creamy mashed potato over the mince. Sprinkle grated cheese on top if desired and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potato is golden and the pie is heated through.

(Serves 4)