Cottage Pie

Andy | Dinner | British

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: 4

This was an absolute classic for us growing up. Mum use to make it all the time, especially in the colder months. For her, it was an easy dish to make and feed four hungry kids. If you're wondering 'what's the difference between cottage and shepherd's pie?', well cottage pie is beef mince, shepherd’s pie is lamb, and other than that they’re pretty much the same thing.

The recipe has pretty simple ingredients that you can pick up in your local supermarket. The only additions I like to add is panko breadcrumbs and grated cheddar on top for extra crunch and flavour.

Ingredient Notes

Sebago potatoes: You want sebago potatoes because of their high starch content. That starch is what gives you a light, fluffy mash. Russet, Yellow, King Edward and Agria are all floury varieties that work just as well. Once boiled, drain them properly and put the colander back over the hot saucepan for a minute to dry them out before they go anywhere near the butter.

Beef mince: I go for a higher fat mince here, around 80/20, because that fat renders out and ends up in the gravy. You can switch the beef mince for lamb and make it a shepherd's pie.

Panko and cheddar: Panko goes on before the cheese and again over the top. As the cheddar melts it releases fat, the panko above it soaks that up, and that is what crisps in the oven. Crushed crisps work in place of panko, which is how my mum used to make it. For a gluten free option, leave the panko (and flour) out or use gluten free crumbs.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Peeler
Medium saucepan
Colander
Masher or potato ricer
Large heavy based frying pan
Spatula and large spoon
Large bowl
Measuring jug
2.5L (2.65 qt) baking dish
Large flat tray to catch drips

Ingredients

1kg Sebago potatoes
100g butter, diced
⅓ cup (80ml) milk
3 tbsp beef tallow or extra virgin olive oil
1kg beef mince
1 brown onion
1 carrot
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste (puree)
sea salt, to taste
1½ tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 dried bay leaves
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
1 beef or chicken stock cube
1 cup (130g) frozen peas (optional)
½ cup (30g) panko breadcrumbs
⅔ cup (80g) grated cheddar cheese

Directions

Boil potatoes
Peel and slice the potatoes into quarters.
Place potatoes in a large saucepan of cold salted water. Place over medium-high heat and cook for 25-30 minutes, until fork tender. Drain well in a colander, then place the colander back over the hot saucepan to dry out the potatoes.
Mash potatoes or push through a ricer into a large bowl. Stir in butter and milk, season with salt and mix until smooth(ish). Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Set aside until the filling is ready to be baked.
Cook the beef
Peel and finely dice the onion and carrot. Peel and finely chop the garlic, set aside.
Heat half of the tallow or olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Remove the mince from the packet and cook in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Break it up and cooking until it have a nice sear on one side. Flip your mince to sear the other side, season with ½ tsp salt and continue searing until well browned. Set the mince aside in a bowl and wipe out the pan.
On medium heat, add the remaining tallow or olive oil. Cook onion and carrot, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic, bay leaves and tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes, season with a light pinch of salt.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the seared mince back to the pan, with the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cube. Bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape off any bits on the base of the pan.
Simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the excess liquid has been absorbed. Turn the stove off, remove the bay leaves and stir in the peas.
Bake your cottage pie
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan force (356°F).
Transfer the beef mixture to a 2.5L (2.65 qt) capacity oven dish and make sure it’s evenly spread in the dish.
Spoon the mash over the beef mixture, completely covering the top. Use your spoon to create peaks in the mash (you don’t want a flat surface). Sprinkle the top with panko, then cheese, and then some more panko.
Bake with a tray underneath to catch any drips for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Faster way to sear the mince

Slice the block of mince in half vertically, then each half horizontally, and lay the slabs in the hot pan like burger patties. Three to four minutes a side, then break it up. It doesn't work as well as breaking it up and cooking it in batches, but it's a good method if you're trying to shave some time off the cook.

Dry out the potatoes

Drying out the potatoes before mashing them gives you a lighter, fluffier mash. Sebago potatoes are great because of their high starch content, but any floury variety like Russet, Yellow, King edward or Agria will work.

Cook out the tomato paste and flour

By cooking out the tomato paste, the vegetables get infused with the tomato flavour and the sauce becomes darker and more savoury.

Cook out the flour before adding the stock. Raw flour leaves a bitter unpleasant flavour in the sauce, where flour that has been cooked out infuses a pleasant nutty-like flavour.

Spoon the mash on in blobs, not one heap

Dump it in the middle and try to spread it out and you will drag gravy up through it. Drop small spoonfuls all over the surface instead, then push them together until the beef is completely covered with nothing poking through. Leave the top rough. The peaks and ridges are what catch the heat and go crunchy.

Storage

Cool the pie, then transfer to a sealed container. It keeps in the fridge for up to four days or freezes for three months. For meal prep, bake it in smaller disposable aluminium trays and pull a portion from the fridge or freezer as you need it.

FAQs

Can I make it gluten free? Leave the panko out or use gluten free breadcrumbs or crushed crisps, and replace the plain flour in the gravy with a gluten free flour or a teaspoon of cornflour slaked in cold water. Check the stock cube and the Worcestershire sauce as well, since both can contain gluten.

Do I have to add peas? No. I like to add them for extra filling (and I like peas) but you can leave them out.

What should I serve with it? The gravy and the butter mash are rich, so something sharp alongside works best. A crisp green salad in a sharp vinaigrette, or steamed greens like broccolini. English mustard or hot sauce on the table if you want more of a kick.