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Cottage Pie
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 leek, finely diced
- 450g/1lb minced stewing beef
- 4 tomatoes, seeds removed and finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1tbsp Dijon mustard
- Splash Worcestershire sauce
- 275ml/½ pt chicken stock
- 450g/1lb cooked potatoes
- 75g/3oz butter
- splash of milk
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
- Heat the rapeseed oil gently in a sauté pan, then add the onion, carrot and leek and sweat gently for five minutes without colouring.
- Add the minced meat and turn the heat up, then fry until well browned.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and garlic and cook for 2 minutes then stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the liquid has almost all evaporated.
- Season then put into a clean ovenproof dish and allow to cool while you make the mash.
- Drain the potatoes well then pass through a potato ricer into a clean pan, add 50g/2oz of the butter, salt and pepper and enough milk to get a smooth pipeable consistency.
- Put into a piping bag with a star tube and pipe on top of the meat in swirls or lines, whatever takes your fancy then bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Melt the remaining butter in a pan, then brush over the pie and return to the oven for 30 minutes until coloured and cooked through.