Cottage Pie

Traditional Cottage Pie Recipe

Written by on in British, Classic Dishes
Traditional Cottage Pie Recipe
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Traditional Cottage Pie Recipe

Recipe by GeeDeeCourse: MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes
Calories

457

kcal
Total time

1

hour 

45

minutes

The early recollections of this popular dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, with the dish lined on the sides and bottom with mashed potato, as well as having a mashed potato crust on top. 

Ingredients

  • 1 kg floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, peeled

  • butter

  • 2 onions chopped

  • 2 carrots diced

  • 2 sticks celery diced

  • 1 tsp dried thyme

  • 600 g Quality minced beef

  • 350 ml good quality beef stock

  • 1 tsp cornflour

  • Worcestershire sauce

  • Warm Milk

  • Grated Nutmeg

  • Grated Cheddar Cheese optional

Directions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Cut your potatoes into evenly sized chunks, and put in a large pan of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
  • Meanwhile, sweat the vegetables off with the butter in a pan over a medium heat, until soft but not browned.
  • Add the thyme and the beef, and brown the beef all over before adding half the stock. Mix the other half of the stock with the cornflour, and then stir into the meat. Add a generous dash of Worcestershire sauce and bring it all to the boil. Once it has come to the boil turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook out for 35 minutes.
  • Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot to steam dry on their own. No heat needed. Mash with a generous knob of butter and add the grated nutmeg. Gradually add the warmed milk until you have a firm but creamy texture. Season to taste with salt + pepper.
  • The meat should be about ready by now, taste and season it, if you think it may be a bit dry add some water but don’t overdo the wetness.
  • Put the meat into a baking dish and top with the potato. Run a fork over the top to roughen up the potato and top with grated cheddar cheese if required. (Not essential purely personal taste).
  • Put into the oven for about 40 minutes, until the potato is crisp and slightly brown, and the sauce is starting to bubble at the sides.Serve with Peas and Carrots and Enjoy.

Recipe Video