Cottage Pie
Yield: 6 to 8
Adapted from: NY Times
Cottage pie is a near twin to its sibling, the slightly better-known shepherd’s pie. The main difference between these traditional dishes, which have roots in Ireland and Britain, is that cottage pie embraces ground beef while shepherd’s pie, fittingly, favors lamb. Smothered in a delicious and thick gravy along with carrots, onions, celery and peas, the ground beef filling is covered in creamy mashed potatoes and then baked into a hearty and satisfying meal. Known for being freezer friendly, easy to make and economical, this recipe stretches its simple ingredients to feed many mouths. For variation, try using chicken or turkey and other vegetables in the base and swapping in sweet potatoes for the topping.
Prep: 20 Cook: 2 hrs
For the filling:
- 2lb ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 2TBS salted butter
- 1medium white or yellow onion, diced, about 1 cup
- 2celery stalks, finely chopped, about ½ cup
- 1medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped, about ½ cup
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 2TBS tomato paste
- ¼cup AP flour
- 2cups beef broth
- ½cup dry red wine (or water)
- ½cup frozen peas
- 2TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 4thyme sprigs
- 2dried bay leaves
For the topping:
- Salt
- 2½lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½cup whole milk
- 5TBS salted butter, melted
- ¾cup grated Parmesan (about 1½ oz)
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Prepare the filling: Heat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium. Add ground beef and a large pinch of salt and cook, breaking up the meat as you go, until slightly pink and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ground beef to a bowl and set aside. Leave about a tsp of fat in the pan and discard the rest.
To the same skillet, add butter, onion, celery and carrot and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, and the carrot is just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste, stirring to coat, about 1 minute. Add flour and stir to incorporate.
Add broth, red wine, peas, Worcestershire sauce, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the consistency of thick gravy, 7 to 10 minutes. Taste and add extra seasoning, if needed. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and stir in the ground beef. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Make the topping: To a large saucepan, add 4 quarts of water and 2 TBS of salt and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until knife-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and put back into the saucepan. Add the milk, 4 TBS butter and ½ cup grated Parmesan. Mash with a potato masher until just creamy, avoiding over-mashing. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Dollop the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture in the skillet, carefully smoothing the mashed potatoes until it fully covers the beef mixture and reaches the edge of the pan. Drizzle the remaining 1 TBS of butter over the top, sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup grated Parmesan and bake in the oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips:
If you do not have an oven-proof skillet, you can transfer beef mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish for assembly and baking.
Cottage pie can be fully assembled and refrigerated (up to 2 days) or frozen (up to 3 months) in advance, then baked. If frozen, allow to defrost fully before baking.
