Cottage pie recipe

This great-value family favorite cottage pie recipe freezes beautifully and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Great for a Sunday lunch or a kid’s party. A delicious cottage pie that will serve the whole family and even some liftover for during the week. Cottage pie is a ground meat pie with a crust or topping of mashed potato. The recipe has many variations, but the defining ingredients are ground red meat cooked in a gravy or sauce with onions, and topped with a layer of mashed potato before it is baked. Sometimes other vegetables are added to the filling, such as peas, celery or carrots. The cottage pie is sometimes grated with cheese to create a layer of melted cheese on top.

TIME

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 90 mins

Total: 145 mins

Cuisine: Beef

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Calories: 540 per serving

Fat: 19g

Carbs: 22.6g

Protein: 20.3g

Full Recipe in Details

Cottage pie recipes. Warming to the tips of your toes, a comforting dish of food is one of the best things about winter.Tasty stewed beef topped with fluffy mash, shepherd’s pie is a comfort food classic.

INGREDIENTS

3 carrots
2 onions
2kg of beef mince (we recommend 4 Good Food beef mince for this recipe)
olive oil
3 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
plain flour
1 table spoon of tomato purée
1 glass of white wine
900 ml of beef stock
handful thyme
Bay leaves
2kg of potatoes
225 ml of milk
30g of butter
200g of cheese

GUIDE / INSTRUCTIONS

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan and fry the mince until browned – you may need to do this in batches. Set aside as it browns. Put the rest of the oil into the pan, add the vegetables and cook on a gentle heat until soft, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic, flour and tomato purée, increase the heat and cook for a few minutes, then return the beef to the pan. Pour over the wine, if using, and boil to reduce it slightly before adding the stock, Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes. By this time the gravy should be thick and coating the meat. Check after about 30 minutes – if a lot of liquid remains, increase the heat slightly to reduce the gravy a little. Season well then discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.
Meanwhile, make the mash. In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes in salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender. Drain well then allow to steam-dry for a few minutes. Mash well with the milk, butter, and three-quarters of the cheese, then season with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
Pure meat into two oven proof dishes then pipe or spoon on the mash to cover over the meat. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese. If eating straight away, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Or follow the steps (below) to freeze.