Cottage Pie is a traditional English dish that first came
into use in the late 1700s. It was
peasant food, a pie made with any kind of meat in gravy and topped with mashed
potato. Cottagers ate it – hence the
name.
Today there are many variations to be found but they are
still basically the same dish.
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| I was sent this lovely sunrise photo by a friend |
My mother used to make Cottage Pie using finely chopped
leftover roast beef. I like to make mine
using raw beef mince (ground beef), and made this up for my midday meal today.
After
sautéing a finely diced small onion in a little butter, I added 300g raw mince
and fried it until the red colour had gone (I mash it up during this time as I
dislike large lumps in this dish). Add
one cup of beef stock (ready-made bought – I am not that good a cook!), and the
mince was left to simmer.
I took one tomato and sliced up some of the flesh to keep
aside for a garnish. The rest was
roughly chopped and added to the mince, along with quarter of a cup each of
frozen peas and frozen corn kernels.
While the mince was cooking I boiled up a large potato and
mashed it – I am not that keen on potato so I only look for a thin topping on
my Pie, not the traditional thick one.
The mince was cooked for about 45 minutes and then thickened
slightly with some cornflour in water, and seasoned with salt and pepper and a
dash of Worcestershire Sauce, before being poured into a small Pyrex dish.
Using a spoon, I dotted the mashed potato over the top and
then my strips of tomato flesh. Pop it
into a hot oven (somewhere around 175 degrees Celsius works well) until the
dish is hot and the potato has turned crispy – the time this takes will depend
on whether you are reheating from cold or just finishing off a newly cooked
dish.
I ate half of this Pie for my meal. I never added any extra vegetables because it
already contained them, but I may add some green beans when I heat up the
remaining half tomorrow.
I like these old stand-by recipes. They are easy to do, can be altered without
any fuss to suit what you have available, and are (usually!) tasty and filling
to eat.
Keep smiling J
Margaret.
This sounds delicious! And looks good, too.
ReplyDeleteCottage Pie sounds a lot like the Shepherd's pie that I used to make when the kids were still at home. I made it the day after we had a roast and used leftover roast beef, whatever vegetables we had had, the leftover gravy and I topped it with mashed potatoes. I remember one of my sons really disliked that meal but it was convenient to use up the leftovers. As you say, the old recipes that can be altered to use what you have are great.
ReplyDeleteI think they are both much the same. I've heard some say Shepherd's Pie uses lamb (sheep LOL), and Cottage Pie uses beef. I don't what they would call it if you used pork!
DeleteYou can't beat a cottage pie.
ReplyDeleteI always sprinkle grated cheese on top of the mash, takes it to another level.
ReplyDeletethat looks super delicious Margaret! Thank you for sharing this to us! Would love to eat that with rice :)
ReplyDeleteoh yes, cottage pie is a favourite in our house especially with my adult son and other half, my son makes it better than I do though.
ReplyDeleteI'm fond of shepherd's pie and cottage pie. I was taught that shepherd's pie was made of lamb and cottage pie of beef. What I did not know was the origin of the name of cottage pie. Interesting. Thanks. By the way I use any minded/ground meat that I happen to have and have even used Quorn. I love pickled beetroot and Branston pickle with my pie.
ReplyDeleteBranston Pickle would go well with it :)
DeleteThis seems to be one of those recipes that in former times gave England its reputation for dull, pedestrian cuisine. I remember once being told by a Frenchman that the English had but two sauces that they put on everything - gravy and custard. It was his accent and the tone of derision in his voice that made it priceless!
ReplyDeleteHello, the cottage pie looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing. The sunrise photo and scene are beautiful. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!
ReplyDeleteGreat dish and coincidentally I'll be making it tomorrow. We have leftover roast pork so I'll chop it as fine as I can and make a stew with whatever vegetables I can find in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI love mashed spuds!!
Yum yum
I've never tried it with pork. Thanks for the Mapua update (don't know those names). Enjoy your Pie :)
DeleteWe do a version of that pie too. Yummy!
ReplyDeleteShoot! I forgot I bought two potatoes yesterday!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder.
You don´t use a pie maker? We still have pies in the freezer. Sadly you cannot buy them here, so we have to make them at home.
Yours looks yummy, too!
What a good meal thanks for the recipe I must try it someday!
ReplyDeleteI love cottage pie! I shall be making some, soon.
ReplyDelete