I always think of Cottage Pie as being an "all-in-one" meal with it's meat, veggies & potatoe - all you need to add is a nice side salad and perhaps a little extra gravy !This is an easy recipe for Cottage Pie. As I mentioned in my recent “Freezing Tips” post, I usually make a big batch of the ‘filling’ and then freeze it in re sealable plastic bags (I portion the filling out so that I know it fits into the round pyrex dish I use when making this). Then when I want to make a cottage pie, I simply defrost the filling, tip it into the pyrex dish and top it with mashed potato before heating/browning it, because a whole frozen Cottage Pie is quite bulky when stored in the freezer and takes up too much valuable space and also because I don’t like the texture of frozen/defrosted mashed potatoe ! (It seems to ‘split’ and go watery/grainy ?)
I use onions, garlic, celery, carrots and courgettes (zucchini) for my filling but you could add any vegetable that you happen to have on hand (throw all your leftovers in !). Peas also work nicely.
So, here is my super simple recipe for Cottage Pie -:
Cottage Pie
Olive Oil
3 Onions, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
4 stalks of Celery, finely sliced
2 large Carrots, roughly grated
1 large Courgette (Zucchini), roughly grated
1 kg Beef Mince
1 Beef Stock Cube
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp Worcester Sauce
4 heaped tsp Gravy powder (or granules)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Water
Mashed Potato (enough to fill the top of the dish you’re using to cook it in)
Bread crumbs (enough to sprinkle over the top of the mashed potato)
Sautee the onions, garlic & celery in the oil until translucent. Then add the carrots & courgette (zucchini). Continue cooking for a few minutes and then add the beef mince. Crumble the stock cube in & cook until done/browned. Add some salt, pepper and the Worcester Sauce and stir. Then add the gravy powder/granules and water. Simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the mashed potato. Using a fork, make lines/patterns across the top of the mashed potato (this helps it to brown nicely under the grill). Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and grill in a hot oven until golden.
You might like to gently heat the cottage pie in the oven first, and then grill it before serving – it all depends on how quickly you plan to eat it after making it !
(This recipe makes 2 cottage pies in a 19 cm round dish.)
I use onions, garlic, celery, carrots and courgettes (zucchini) for my filling but you could add any vegetable that you happen to have on hand (throw all your leftovers in !). Peas also work nicely.
So, here is my super simple recipe for Cottage Pie -:
Cottage Pie
Olive Oil
3 Onions, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
4 stalks of Celery, finely sliced
2 large Carrots, roughly grated
1 large Courgette (Zucchini), roughly grated
1 kg Beef Mince
1 Beef Stock Cube
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp Worcester Sauce
4 heaped tsp Gravy powder (or granules)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Water
Mashed Potato (enough to fill the top of the dish you’re using to cook it in)
Bread crumbs (enough to sprinkle over the top of the mashed potato)
Sautee the onions, garlic & celery in the oil until translucent. Then add the carrots & courgette (zucchini). Continue cooking for a few minutes and then add the beef mince. Crumble the stock cube in & cook until done/browned. Add some salt, pepper and the Worcester Sauce and stir. Then add the gravy powder/granules and water. Simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the mashed potato. Using a fork, make lines/patterns across the top of the mashed potato (this helps it to brown nicely under the grill). Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and grill in a hot oven until golden.
You might like to gently heat the cottage pie in the oven first, and then grill it before serving – it all depends on how quickly you plan to eat it after making it !
(This recipe makes 2 cottage pies in a 19 cm round dish.)
