British Main
Cottage Pie
Ratings & commentsRich minced beef and vegetables in a savoury gravy, under a golden mashed potato crust. Proper British comfort food for six.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 h 15 min
- Total
- 1 h 40 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Heat
- Mild
About this Cottage Pie
Cottage pie is beef mince in a rich gravy under mashed potato, baked until the top is crisp and golden. It is cheap, filling and made for batch cooking: assemble one for supper and freeze another. Fork the top of the potato before baking and you get more of those crunchy edges.
Ingredients
- 900 gBeef Mince
- 300 gOnions, finely chopped
- 300 gCarrots, diced small
- 30 gPlain Flour
- 50 gTomato Puree
- 10 gSalt
- 3 gBlack Pepper, freshly ground
- 1.2 kgPotatoes, floury, peeled and cut into even chunks
- 80 gButter
- 150 mlMilk, warm
Plus water and a little salt to taste.
How to prepare Cottage Pie
Put the potatoes in a pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until a knife slides in easily.
Meanwhile, brown the mince in a large, wide pan over a high heat for 8-10 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Spoon off any excess fat.
Add the onions and carrots and cook for 8 minutes until softening. Stir in the flour and tomato puree and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in 400 ml of water, add the pepper and half the salt, and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is thick and the carrots tender.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Drain the potatoes, let them steam dry for a couple of minutes, then mash with the butter, the warm milk and the remaining salt until smooth.
Spoon the meat into a large ovenproof dish and spread the mash over the top. Rough up the surface with a fork.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling at the edges and piping hot all the way through.
Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
The method was written by AI from the ingredient list. Cook with your own judgement, and check that everything is cooked through and safe to eat.
Tips
- A pie made with lamb mince is a shepherd's pie; the method is exactly the same.
- Cool completely before freezing. Reheat from frozen at 180C for about an hour, until steaming hot in the centre.
- Dry mash browns better, so let the boiled potatoes steam off for a few minutes before mashing.
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