sewbuttons: Cheesy Cottage Pie

One Recipe a Week :: Fall 2012 :: Week 2

This week I went to my recipe file, and found clippings of recipes from a supper club I went to years ago. Jen liked to make food by Jamie Oliver, and one week it was

Cheesy Cottage Pie.

Not really too much work, and quite yummy. A sort of wintery comfort food. It wasn't very strong in the spice-department, but it was nice. And next time I'll be more generous with the peas and carrots.

I strongly prefer my recipe instructions to be mixed in with the ingredients, so I don't have to go back-and-forth with my eyes. So, it's been re-written like that for you. But it originally comes from here.

Serves 6

1. Put the potatoes on to boil before starting anything else.

6 large potatoes

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the minced meat till browned.

approx 800g minced beef
1 tablespoon olive oil

3. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and fry till lightly browned.

1 large onion, finely chopped

4.Add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the beef, carrots, peas and herbs.

2 tomatoes, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and cubed
2/3 cup of frozen peas (optional)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage

5. Add the beef stock and season with salt and pepper.

approx 250ml beef stock
Salt and black pepper to season

6. Cook over a low heat for about 20mins, adding a bit more stock if it seems too dry (see note). {I added some of the potato water, rather than making more beef stock}

7. Once it's simmering, preheat the oven to 190C. Hopefully before the end of 20 min, the potatoes will be done. Mash them with

a little milk and butter
1 handful of grated mature Cheddar cheese (or mature Gouda)
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch of nutmeg

8. Transfer the meat into a large baking dish or ovenproof casserole.

9. Top with the cheesy potatoes and score the top with a fork. You can either dot a little butter over the potatoes or spray a little olive oil over the top.

10. Bake at 190C for approx 30mins, till golden.

Note: If you prefer more gravy in your pie, double the quantity of stock and thicken with a little cornflour towards the end of cooking.