Cottage Pie
Cottage pie is Shepard's Pie with ground beef rather than lamb. A soul warming vegetable and meat stew topped with a cheesy layer of mashed potatoes.
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 9x13 Baking/Casserole Dish
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Potato Masher **or hand mixer
Ingredients
For Meat and Vegetable Filling:
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1.5 c White Onion **one medium/large onion
- 1.5 lb Ground Beef **or ground lamb for traditional Shepherd's Pie
- 4 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1.5 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1.5 tsp Dried Rosemary
- 1.5 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1.5 tsp Black Pepper
- 1.5 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 tsp Minced Garlic
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 3 oz Tomato Paste
- 1.5 c Beef Broth
- 1 c Frozen Corn
- 1.5 c Frozen Peas & Carrots
For Potato Layer:
- 2.5 lb Russet Potato peeled and cut into large cubes
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 stick Butter
- 1/2 c Whole Milk
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1/2 c Shredded Parmesan Cheese
FINISHING TOUCHES:
- 1.5 tsp Dried Parsley
Instructions
PREP WORK:
- Peel and dice onion.
- Peel and cube potatoes.
- Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer until fork tender while making meat and vegetable filling.
FOR MEAT AND VEGETABLE FILLING:
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes.
- Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ground beef. Break it up with the wooden spoon.
- Add parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
- Cook until meat is browned. About 7-8 minutes.
- Drain about half of the grease that was cooked out.
- Add garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Mix thoroughly.
- Add flour and tomato paste. Mix until tomato paste is no longer clumpy and the whole mixture is smooth and slightly red in color.
- Add beef broth and vegetables. Bring to boil and then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
FOR MASHED POTATO LAYER:
- When potatoes are fork tender (falling apart when putting a fork through them), turn off the stove, strain out the water and return potatoes to pot.
- Let sit for 1 minute in hot pot so any excess water evaporates.
- Add butter, milk, pepper and parsley.
- Mash or mix until smooth.
- Add Parmesan and mix until melted in.
CONSTRUCTING AND COOKING YOUR PIE:
- Pour and spread meat layer evenly into prepared 9x13 dish.
- Dollop potato in heaping scoops over top of meat mixture.
- Spread potatoes like icing in an even layer.
- Sprinkle top with 1.5 tsp of dried parsley.
- Place constructed pie in fridge to chill and set for 30 minutes (or up to 12 hours) while preheating the oven to 400F.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. You may want to place your pie on a baking sheet to reduce mess incase it boils over.
- Cool for 15-20 minutes before serving!