How to Make a Real English Cottage Pie

When you hear a name like “Cottage Pie,” you probably think of grandmothers, or cozy homes in the woods.  Today, you’ll probably only come across a so-called Cottage Pie as a small, sad square of dry meat topped with baked-solid potato in the freezer section of your local grocery store, but don’t let that make you lose hope.  Forget the freezer meals and delve deep into the realms of home cooking by making it yourself. 

For the mince, you will need:

1 pound of ground lamb (beef will do)

1 bottle of Irish stout beer (suggest Guinness)

1 onion (diced)

10 mushrooms (sliced)

Vegetable oil

2 large tomatoes (chopped or crushed)

1 can mushroom cream soup

1 cup beef stock or broth

Chopped mixed vegetables (suggest: carrots, broccoli, peas)

Worcestershire Sauce

For the mash, you will need:

5-10 medium yellow potatoes (quartered)

Salt and pepper

Butter

Milk

Half a block of cheddar cheese (grated)

Parsley

Steps:

This recipe is very easy to make.  To begin with, heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Next, put the ground lamb in a bowl and pour the stout over it.  Leave it to sit while the oven heats up (you can leave it to marinade overnight if you have the time).

Place a large skillet or wok on the stove, and heat it to medium-high.  Sauté the chopped onions until they are golden brown and soft.  Add the chopped tomatoes and the sliced mushrooms, and mix the vegetables together.

Add the ground lamb and the stout beer.  Cook everything together, stirring well, until the lamb is browned and the beer stock is reduced by 50 percent.

When there is no pink meat visible amid the lamb mince, add the mushroom soup, the beef stock and the Worcestershire sauce.  Cook everything together over a medium heat, stirring gently to mix all of the flavors together.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until most of the liquid has reduced.

Now, it’s time to make the mash topping.  Boil the potato quarters in a big pan of salted water for 10-15 minutes until soft: drain and mash.  Add one to two tablespoons of butter or margarine, and a generous splash of milk to moisten the mash.  Stir well together, then mash thoroughly.  Season with parsley flakes and fresh black pepper.

Pour the lamb mixture into a deep glass baking dish or casserole dish, making sure the mixture is at least an inch deep in all places.  Next, spoon the mashed potatoes on top (carefully) and smooth out to make a layer half an inch deep.  Top it off with the grated cheese.

When everything is done, take a fork and score the prongs lengthways down the entire length of the pie, making little trenches in the mash.  This will make the top crunchy under the cheese.  Bake in the oven until brown and bubbly, approximately 30 minutes. 

Serving Suggestion:

Let it sit for 10 minutes, then serve in a deep soup dish with a big hunk of buttered bread.  Delicious!