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Cottage Pie
1 hour 30 mins
Yield: 6
Steps
- Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large, deep pan. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring for 1 minute until slightly softened.
- Add the celery, carrot and zucchini. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes, until softened.
- Increase the heat to high, add the beef mince and cook for 4-5 minutes or until starting to brown.
- Stir in the flour, followed by the tomato paste.
- Add the beef stock, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low so that the sauce is just simmering.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for a further 20 minutes, stirring regularly. The sauce will thicken into a lovely gravy (see note 2).
- Set the filling aside to cool.
- MASHED POTATO TOPPING
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil (you will need a pot large enough so that the potatoes are covered by at least 5 cm/2″ of water).
- Add the peeled, quartered potatoes to the water and cook for 15-20 minutes until soft enough to pierce with a fork.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Drain the potatoes using a colander and place the potatoes back in the pot. Allow them to steam dry for 1-2 minutes. This removes any excess water.
- Add the butter and mash the potatoes twice around the pot before adding the milk. Continue to mash until smooth and fluffy, and season with the salt.
- ASSEMBLE PIE
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
- Once the beef mixture has cooled slightly, transfer it into a large baking dish (approximately 30 x 25 cm or 12 x 10″). You can skip this step if you have made your filling in an oven-safe pan.
- Spoon the mashed potato on top of the beef mixture and use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly. Do this while the mashed potato is hot, as it’s much easier to spread. Use a fork to rough up the surface gently.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden and crispy.
Originally published at simplehomeedit.com. Reproduced for personal collection.
