Cottage Pie
HB-6646 · Hand-built original · British
Ground beef is braised with onion, celery, carrot, tomato paste, red wine and beef broth, with peas stirred in at the end, under a mashed russet potato topping enriched with milk, butter and Parmesan. The pie bakes until the potato peaks turn golden and the filling bubbles.
BritishMain course2 hr6 to 8 servingsEgg-free
Main ingredient: beef
Pairs well with: mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, red wine sauce, yorkshire pudding, green beans
Servings:6quantities adjust to match
Ingredients
- For the Filling: 2 pounds ground beef
- For the Filling: Salt and pepper
- For the Filling: 2 tablespoons salted butter
- For the Filling: 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced, about 1 cup
- For the Filling: 2 celery stalks, finely chopped, about ½ cup
- For the Filling: 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped, about ½ cup
- For the Filling: 3 garlic cloves, minced
- For the Filling: 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- For the Filling: ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- For the Filling: 2 cups beef broth
- For the Filling: ½ cup dry red wine (or water)
- For the Filling: ½ cup frozen peas
- For the Filling: 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- For the Filling: 4 thyme sprigs
- For the Filling: 2 dried bay leaves
- For the Topping: Salt
- For the Topping: 2½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- For the Topping: ½ cup whole milk
- For the Topping: 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- For the Topping: ¾ cup grated Parmesan (about 1½ ounces)
Method
- Brown the ground beef in a large heavy pan over medium-high heat, seasoning it with salt and pepper, until it is well coloured; drain off the excess fat.
- Add the salted butter, diced onion, celery and carrot to the beef and cook until the vegetables soften and the onion turns translucent.
- Stir in the minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for a minute so the paste darkens slightly.
- Sprinkle the flour over the beef mixture, pour in the beef broth and red wine, and add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
- Simmer the filling gently until it thickens into a rich gravy, then stir in the frozen peas, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, and tip the filling into a baking dish.
- Meanwhile boil the potato cubes in salted water until completely tender, drain them, and mash with the whole milk and melted salted butter until smooth.
- Stir the grated Parmesan through the hot mash and season the topping with salt to taste.
- Spread the Parmesan mash over the beef filling, roughing its surface into peaks with a fork.
- Bake the cottage pie at 375F for about 30 minutes, until the potato topping is golden in spots and the beef gravy bubbles up around the edges.
- Rest the pie for a few minutes so the filling settles, then serve it in generous spoonfuls.
Total: 2h 0m
Nutrition not computed — no serving count in the source recipe (per-serving values cannot be derived without one).