cottage pie. whats your recipe?

[Kanifee]

Absolutely love cottage pie but i have never settled on a recipe or even really found one that i think... yep thats the one!
the hardest part for me is the stock/gravy in it, my mum used to used baked beans in hers and that was gorgeous.

how do you make yours?

 

[Van Hellseek]

Minced Beef
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Red Pepper
Celery
Few canned mushrooms if I've got some in the fridge
Chopped tomatoes
Seasoning
Mash of course

Although I don't call it Cottage pie, I call it "Brothel Pie" because it tastes so good it will make you...



Oh and forget baked beans. The horrible chemical 'tomato sauce' makes the cottage pie taste rank imo.

 

[randomshenans]

Not related but, my lady puts a tin of Heinz tomato soup in her lasagna, which I commented negatively on, which led to a full on war at the supermarket. Hahaha


That is all.

 

[vicisthebest]

I actually use beef gravy in mine rather than beef stock, I use this:

in with my mince and onion once they're browned/softened. Needs to have carrots in and I usually put peas in as well.

I also LOVE this stuff, in any situation but also in cottage pie.

Just adds a big flavour whack.

 

[lee7]

Minced Beef
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Red Pepper
Celery
Few canned mushrooms if I've got some in the fridge
Chopped tomatoes
Seasoning
Mash of course

Pretty much this but I use fresh baby button mushrooms & finely chop some fresh mint up and throw it in with the mince, It works a treat imo

 

[Moza]

Prefer shepherds to cottage personally, both very nice. Nobody has mentioned Worcester Sauce in theres...just me?

 

[Natwee]

Chop carrot onion and celery, and cook in pan with the lid on. remove from heat.

cook mince. add veg back, add a tin of tomato sauce, some worchestershire sauce, a big spoonful of marmite, and some beef stock. cook till thickened. add frozen peas before the end.

put mash on top and pop in oven for 10 mins!

 

[Van Hellseek]

I also LOVE this stuff, in any situation but also in cottage pie.

Just adds a big flavour whack.

I use a pinch of mixed herbs in mine. Not sure mixed herbs with dried garlic would add anything that a pinch of mixed herbs + FRESH garlic wouldn't add (and be tastier). But it certainly looks easier at least I guess.

 

[physichull]

Much the same as others, except for a few extra twists I have. I follow Delia's recipe of adding a bit of ground nutmeg in the meat mixture. Also, I like to finely chop some leeks, fry them in butter until soft then mix in with the mash potato topping. Add some grated cheese on top, score the surface a little and whack in the oven for a bit.

The nutmeg really does make a difference though, it's a good idea. Though I do know people who put sundried tomatos in aswell, but that isn't to my taste.

 

[Van Hellseek]

Add some grated cheese on top

I do this too, when I'm feeling a bit cheeky.

 

[spudbynight]

For me I do the following things with the mash :

(a) add parsnip and horseradish

or

(b) add celeriac

 

[Redz]

For the filling:
1lb of mince
1 large onion
half a punnet of mushrooms
1 tablespoon of garden peas
1 tin of Baxter's Royal Game soup

For the topping:
1kg of potatoes
1 teaspoon of chives

 

[j.col]

2 tbsp Bacon, fat (or dripping,)
1 onion, chopped
2 Carrots, finely diced
2 sticks Celery, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs Thyme
2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
675g minced lamb, (or beef for a cottage pie)
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper


For the topping:
900g Potatoes, cooked in their skins
60g Butter
150ml Milk
1 pinch Nutmeg, freshly grated


1. Take a large deep frying pan and heat half the fat in it. Add the vegetables, and fry gently, allowing plenty of time, until patched with brown at the corners, turning them frequently. Scoop out onto a plate.

2. Raise the heat under the pan and add half the mince. Pat it down flat, and leave to fry without disturbing for several minutes until the underneath has browned properly (this is what gives the cooked mince a good rich brown colour, and its proper, deep, meaty savouriness). Then break it all up, turning it over. Repeat the browning process, and then lift the mince out of the pan with a slotted spoon.

3. Repeat with the remaining mince.

4. Drain off excess fat from the pan, and then return the mince and vegetables to it. Sprinkle the flour over the mince and vegetables and stir for about 30 seconds. Next add the herbs (tie bay leaf and thyme in a bundle for easy retrieval at the end of the cooking time), together with the water, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. Bring up to the boil, then turn the heat down very low, and leave to simmer quietly for 45-60 minutes or so. Check every now and then, and add a little more water if it is drying out. By the time it is cooked, the mixture should be moist and succulent and thick. If it seems watery carry on cooking to evaporate off some of the liquid. Taste and adjust seasoning, then tip into a pie dish and leave to cool.

6. Set the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Scoop the potato flesh out of the skins, and mash with 45g butter and enough milk to give a mash that is fairly soft, but will hold its shape.

7. Dollop the mashed potato here and there over the mince, then spread down lightly in an even layer. Use the tines of a fork to make wavy lines (or some other interesting pattern) on the surface. Dot with remaining butter.

8. Bake for around 30 minutes until the top is browned and the juices from the meat are oozing and bubbling up round the edge.

 

[Jegethy]

I like some pork sausage meat in mine. Normally some really good Cumberland sausage meat from my butcher. Cooked with the mince so it gets mixed well and isn't in large chunks, then cooked in a slow cooker for a few hours before transferring to my trusty Pyrex glass dish and topping with mash (With plenty of garlic in) and cheese, then in the oven until golden, bubbly and delicious.

Not really a cottage pie, but a tasty twist on it.

 

[alx]

Delia Smith's recipe is pretty damn good! Simple but effective. She puts a bit of cinamon in it which gives it a nice flavour.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

Worcestershire sauce and a bay leaf are essential cottage pie ingrediants!

 

[PeterNem]

I always add a big spoon of marmite to add to that meaty richness!

 

[Swordfish]

I made cottage pie tonight and it was awesome. Recipe as follows:

For 2

250g lean steak mince
1 onion
2 carrots
1 small leek
a little turnip
3 average sized potatoes for the mash topping
veg stock
1 teaspoon tomato purée
black pepper
mixed herbs (dried works)

Brown mince in a pot for about 3-5 minutes, then add your carrots, onions, leek and turnip. Turn heat up high and add the stock. Bring to the boil and then set to simmer. Add the tomato purée. At this point I add some Bisto to thicken and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Boil the potatoes and when ready mash (best to use a potato ricer) with a little butter and milk.

It is best to let the mince mixture go cold before putting that mash on as it makes it easier.

Once ready to go stick in the oven at gas 5 for about 20 minutes (until you see the gravy bubbling through the mash) and the turn up to gas 7 for about 15 minutes. I then turn up to gas 9 for another 5 just to really brown the surface.

Dish up as serve. Nom Nom Nom.

 

[utajoker]

Worcestershire sauce and a bay leaf are essential cottage pie ingrediants!

Worcestershire sauce is the secret to good juice!