Cottage Pie Simply The Best Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate.
• Place potatoes into a pot; cover with salted water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover; simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; mash with 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef, herbes de Provence, and nutmeg; cook and stir until beef is lightly brown and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Spread the beef evenly in the prepared pie plate. Cover evenly with the peas; spread the mashed potatoes over the peas. Dot the casserole with the remaining butter.
• Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until heated through and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium saucepan; add the diced onion, carrot, garlic and mushrooms, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.
• Add beef to pan and cook stirring with a fork until sealed and brown.
• Add the stock, bay leaf, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf salt and pepper.
• Simmer gently for half an hour, reducing liquid and thicken if necessary. Place in ovenproof pie dish and allow to cool.
• Cook potato, with the 1 diced onion. When cooked, mash the potato, adding the milk, parsley, pepper and salt to taste.
• Spread the mash evenly over the meat.
• Place in hot (200c) oven for approximately 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
• Serve with other cooked vegetables.
• Note: for a nice variation, you can add some grated cheese to the mash, stir in well and proceed as usual.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• To Make Meat Filling: Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef and saute 1 minute. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until meat is no longer pink and onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour, cinnamon, mixed herbs, and parsley.
• In a small bowl, combine beef broth and tomato paste. Mix together, then add to beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.
• To Make Potato Topping: Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and place over high heat. Allow to come to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
• Mash potatoes until smooth, then add butter or margarine, followed by milk. Whip until fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over beef filling. Sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned and cheese is bubbly.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry 1¼ kg beef mince until browned - you may need to do this in batches. Set aside as it browns.
• Put the other 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan, add 2 finely chopped onions, 3 chopped carrots and 3 chopped celery sticks and cook on a gentle heat until soft, about 20 mins.
• Add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 3 tbsp plain flour and 1 tbsp tomato purée, increase the heat and cook for a few mins, then return the beef to the pan.
• Pour over a large glass of red wine, if using, and boil to reduce it slightly before adding the 850ml beef stock, 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, a few thyme sprigs and 2 bay leaves.
• Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45 mins. By this time the gravy should be thick and coating the meat. Check after about 30 mins - if a lot of liquid remains, increase the heat slightly to reduce the gravy a little. Season well, then discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.
• Meanwhile, make the mash. In a large saucepan, cover the 1.8kg potatoes which you've peeled and chopped, in salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
• Drain well, then allow to steam-dry for a few mins. Mash well with the 225ml milk, 25g butter, and three-quarters of the 200g strong cheddar cheese, then season with freshly grated nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
• Spoon the meat into 2 ovenproof dishes. Pipe or spoon on the mash to cover. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
• If eating straight away, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for 25-30 mins, or until the topping is golden.
• If you want to use a slow cooker, brown your mince in batches then tip into your slow cooker and stir in the vegetables, flour, purée, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce and herbs with some seasoning. Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours. Make the mash following the previous steps, and then oven cook in the same way to finish.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the topping: Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Season with 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, thyme and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and tender, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it turns brick red, about 8 minutes. Add the lamb, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in the peas. Stir in the flour until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the broth and Worcestershire and cook until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• To finish the topping, melt the butter in the large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cabbage and leeks and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper, and cook until warm, about 1 minute. Return the potatoes to the pan with the cabbage and add the cheese. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks.
• Transfer the filling to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add the topping, swirling to create texture. Make sure that the sides are sufficiently covered so the filling doesn't leak through. Bake until the filling is bubbly and the top is lightly golden, about 35 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, celery and carrot, stirring them over a brisk heat but not allowing them to brown.
• After 5 minutes or so add the garlic, reduce the heat and soften everything together.
• Increase the heat again and add the ground beef, stirring until browned.
• Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, wine and stock, season and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Boil the potatoes until soft and mash them with the milk until smooth and creamy.
• Spoon the meat mixture into a gratin dish and cover with a thick, even layer of mashed potato.
• Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 45-55 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve with seasonal vegetables.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Crumble in the mince and stir to coat the meat in the hot oil. Cook the mince for 15 mins until you are left with browned, toasted mince and the fat from the meat. Stir the vegetables in with the mince and cook for 10 mins until they start to turn brown. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2 mins. Stir in the herbs, ketchup and tomato purée, and splash in the Worcestershire sauce. Pour in the ale, bubble for a minute, then gradually stir in the stock. Leave everything to simmer gently for 1 hr until you have a tender mince in a rich gravy.
• Use a slotted spoon to lift the mince and vegetables into a large baking dish, leaving the residual gravy in the pan. Drain the gravy through a sieve into another saucepan, then tip what remains in the sieve back into the baking dish. Leave the mince to cool, then put in the fridge (or, better still, the freezer if you have room) for at least 1 hr until the fat from the mince solidifies. This part can be made up to two days ahead.
• While the meat sauce is cooling, make the cheesy potato topping. Tip the potatoes, whole and in their skins, into a large pan of salted water. Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Drain off the water and leave until the potatoes are just cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, boil the milk, butter and mustard powder together in a large saucepan. Peel the cooked potatoes by rubbing their skins off with a tea towel. Mash or pass the potatoes through a ricer into the hot milk and butter, stir through the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
• When the meat sauce has set, top with the mash. Start from the outside and use a spatula to scrape the mash against the side of the dish, then spread it over the middle of the dish. Using a fork, make lines across the topping. Can be frozen for up to 6 months.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the pie on a large baking tray to catch any drips and bake for 30-35 mins until golden. Leave it to rest for at least 10 mins while you heat up the extra gravy. Serve the pie at the table with green vegetables and the jug of extra gravy for pouring over.