Cottage pie recipe

Cottage pie recipe

Cottage pie is one of the classics of a British kitchen It is known for being a hearty, filling, and warming food and although often thought of as a winter dish, it is perfect any time of year. 

Ingredients

2 pounds/900 g potatoes (baking potatoes, peeled and quartered)

6 tablespoons milk

• 4 ounces/110 g butter (cubed)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon lard (or drippings)
• 1 cup/115 g onion (chopped)
• 1 cup/115 g carrot (chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 2 cups/450 g ground beef
• 2 cups/600 ml beef stock
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter

Method

Heat the oven to 375 F/190 C/Gas Mark 5

Place the potatoes into a pan and cover with boiling water. Boil gently until soft (about 15 minutes) and then drain. Add the milk and butter to the pan, heat through until the butter melts, add the potatoes and mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Melt the lard or drippings in a large, deep ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and carrot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute making sure you do not burn the garlic.

Add the ground beef and roughly 1/4 of the beef stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all the meat is browned. Add the remaining stock, parsley,and salt and pepper. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 15 minutes.

Mash the flour into 1 tablespoon butter to form a paste.  Add small pieces of the paste to the ground meat sauce, stirring until all the flour has dissolved, then repeat until all the paste is used up. The sauce should have thickened slightly.

Cover with the reserved mashed potatoes. Fluff up the potatoes and then sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the surface is crisp and browned.

Serve immediately with fresh seasonal vegetables.

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