Cottage Pie
Cottage Pie is another dish I learned while living in Britain. Creamy mashed potatoes are mixed with mozzarella cheese to form the top crust. This British pub-food staple has been my family’s favorite especially my husband. But wait! You might also think of another dish similar to this, which is shepherd’s pie. There is a difference between “cottage pie” and “shepherd’s pie”, and it’s in the meat. Shepherd’s contains lamb, and “cottage” usually applies to one made with beef.
Deliciously comforting and satisfying, this family favorite also contains healthy vegetables that even picky eaters will love! Let it bubble away in the oven till golden brown. Smother it with my gravy recipe and it’ll just be lovely!
This great-value and hearty dish are best for mid-week dinner or a weekend treat! Just the aroma of it fresh out of the oven will bring everybody to the table. Golden brown top crust and tender minced beef inside, this recipe is a keeper! So, without further ado, let’s get cooking!
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
Tips for Cottage Pie
- Head over to my post for the creamy and delicious mashed potatoes recipe.
Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- 500 grams minced beef
- 2 cups mix vegetables (green peas, corn and carrots (diced))
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- pinch of paprika powder (add more according to preference)
- pinch of cumin powder (add more according to preference)
- pinch of cayenne powder (add more according to preference)
- pinch of ground black pepper (add more according to preference)
- pinch of salt (add more according to preference)
- 1 pc beef broth cube
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ cup mozzarella (add more if you want it super cheesy)
Instructions
- Saute garlic and onion in cooking oil over medium heat in a cooking pot. Add minced beef stir until golden brown or approx. 5 minutes.
- Pour in tomato sauce and stir. Add mixed vegetables and mix. Lower heat and cover to simmer for about 10 minutes or until vegetable are soft/tender.
- Add beef cube, and dash with paprika, cumin, cayenne, pepper and salt. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust according to your preference.
- Remove from heat source and transfer in a baking dish. Set aside.
- Pre-heat oven @ 190° C
- Make the mashed potatoes by following this link.
- When done with the mashed potatoes. Take the baking dish with cooked minced beef and lay the mashed potatoes on top. Make sure to spread evenly. Grate the mozzarella on top of the potatoes.
- Bake for 35 minutes @ 190° C or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve while hot and smother with gravy. Bon Appetit!
Found your site looking for gravy hints for vheap meat. Your recipe looks delicious but I was almost finished cooking mine so havent tried it. Hence the neutral stars .
Actually it was the mozzarella that surprised me. You and your husband are obviously much younger than I and I bet he’s from south east England. I never heard of that cheese till probably the 80s or 90s of last century. I never had cottage pie with cheese on it either but, as I come ftom Lancashire it would’ve a lovely creamy, crumbly, tasty Lancashire cheese. Yorkshire folk would use Wensleydale maybe. Then there is Cheddar further south, Gloucester, etc etc for every area of the country. I gather a lot of the difference is in the geology under the grass the cows eat. We dont have buffalo in England as a rule so mozarrella would not feature in traditional cottage pie. Just like the sweet potato i mix with potato in my mash. So nowt wrong wi’ a bit of foreign cheese either. I will be using sheeps cheese tho as I live on S Spain now and its quite common. So is goat cheese but dont think it would do here.
Hi Helena,
Thanks for dropping by. We actually live in France and using mozzarella is my take in making cottage pie. I haven’t tried sheep’s cheese and I would really love to know how it went when you try it.