Easy Cottage Pie

Dear all,

Kindly take note that Shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, wherelse Cottage pie is made with beef. I find it disturbing when there is beef in my shepherd’s pie and lamb in my cottage pie. I do consume both lamb and beef, but I NEED to know which one I am consuming. It irks me when I wanna buy a cottage pie and I’m told that only shepherd’s pie is available and I would be like ok so you don’t have beef, you only have lamb right? And the person behind the counter would reply “no, miss we only have beef here.” Then WHY is it called shepherd’s pie again? *inserts angry smiley*

Okay time to cool down. *scrolls back up and stares at the picture above*

Sighs, there is something about mashed potatoes that is totally comforting. I am personally a fan of mashed potatoes. There is something about that creamy texture that offers you warmth and comfort. Although I do not take it often, I have always had an insatiable love for mashed potato. Creamy, buttery, yup, pure comfort food.

Don’t you just miss the ignorance that you had as a child. Where there was no such thing as an unhealthy fascination? You never had to worry about calories or increasing waistline as there was more to life than just calories and scales. You could scoop up a big spoonful of mashed potatoes and repeat it all over again x 20. I think the meanest F-word would be FATS. Hands down.

Potatoes, there are basically so many things you can do with it. The norm would be,

1. French Fries
2. Mashed Potatoes
3. Gratins
4. Shepherd’s pie/cottage pie
5. Croquettes

Refer to number 3. That is what we are gonna be making today. 

Shepherd’s pie is a classic British dish and there are so many different recipes out there. I have made a lot of different variations but this one would be the easiest. I wanted to share a really simple recipe that is fool proof. Who am I kidding? These pies are always fool proof, unless you are the sort that would place something in the oven, walk away and totally forget about it. Not that I am talking from experience. 

Anyways, you can always prepare the filling a day in advance and prepare the mashed potatoes the next day if you are pressed for time. These keep really well, so you can make extra batches. Do give this Easy Cottage Pie recipe a try. If you are going to be using minced mutton instead, then please remember that it would then be Shepherd’s pie. This works with minced chicken too. For a vegetarian version, add in a good pound of fresh button mushrooms. Mashed potatoes are already dreamy on it’s own. Having another layer of goodness under that creamy layer, just brings it to another level.

Hmm…I wonder how many calories would you be burning if you are staring at a picture for the past two hours?

Easy Cottage Pie

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: : Maya Kitchenette

Ingredients

For the filling

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, cubed
• 1 large green pepper, cubed
• 500g minced beef
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 150 ml beef/vegetable stock
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves OR any of your favourite herbs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the mashed potatoes

• 1.5kg potatoes
• 100ml milk (I use fresh milk. Any other milk would do too)
• 80g butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• ½ cup of grated cheddar cheese for topping

Instructions

Cooking the filling

1. Heat a large pan on a medium heat and add a good lug of olive oil.
2. Mix in onions, carrot, garlic, pepper and rosemary leaves.
3. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots have softened.
4. Mix in 2 tbsp of tomato puree and cook for a further 2 minutes.
5. Add the minced beef and brown for 10 minutes, though stirring occasionally
6. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce.
7. Mix in stock and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper.

To make your mash topping

1. Clean the potatoes and boil these in a pot of salted water.
2. Boil until the potatoes are fork-tender.
3. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let it cool down slightly.
4. Remove the skin from the potatoes.
5. Mash the potatoes and add the butter. The warm of the potato would melt your butter.
6. Add milk, salt and pepper.
7. Mash until smooth and creamy.

To assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Pour the beef mixture to a large ovenproof baking dish.
3. Spoon the mash evenly over the top.
4. Top with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Notes

If you are pressed for time, remove the skin on the potatoes and cut into chunks before boiling. This step would halve the time taken to cook the potatoes. 🙂

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 8 Calories: 417 Fat: 17g Saturated fat: 9g Unsaturated fat: 7g Trans fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 41g Sugar: 4g Sodium: 249mg Fiber: 4g Protein: 26g Cholesterol: 84mg

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