6 servings
45 min prep
45 min cook
Cottage Pie
2 tablespoons of Cooking Oil
2 ribs of Celery, finely diced
2 medium Carrots, finely diced
1 medium Yellow Onion, finely diced
4 cloves of Garlic, minced or grated
¾ teaspoons of Ground Cumin
1 pound of Ground Beef
2½ tablespoons of Tomato Paste
1 tablespoon of Fresh Thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
½ teaspoon of Nutmeg
1¼ cups of low sodium Beef Stock
½ cup of Dry Red Wine
5 large Potatoes
⅓ cup of Cream
4 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
Salt & Pepper
- Peel potatoes and cut into ½ inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, decrease head to maintain simmer and cook until tender, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 & while the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, & celery and sauté 3-4 min. Add garlic and stir to combine.
- Add beef, salt, & pepper and cook until browned and cooked through. Sprinkle meat with flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste, broth, wine, nutmeg, and thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10-12 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly.
- Microwave butter and cream to combine. Drain potatoes then return to saucepan. Mash potatoes, then add butter, cream, salt, & pepper and continue to mash until smooth.
- Spread meat mixture evenly into baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal, and smooth with a spatula. Place on parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes or just until potatoes start to brown. Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
Another recipe in a series of dishes from my childhood that I've set out to improve upon, cottage pie (which is really shepherd's pie but with beef instead of lamb) is one of my English dad's go-tos. The addition of red wine & nutmeg really takes this to the next level.