Cottage Pie

In celebration of Pi Day (the 14th) I decided to make a square pie with no crust. Wacky huh? This easy, delicious and comforting classic is not be confused with Shepards Pie, which is basically the same thing except it’s made with lamb. I guess if you live in a cottage you would not have lambs, but you would have cows?

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 lb ground beef (I use 80/20)
• 1 TBSP of butter, plus more for greasing
• 1 baseball size yellow onion, diced
• 6 oz baby carrots, sliced
• 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dry parsley
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/4 red wine
• 1 TBSP Worcester sauce
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups cooled mashed potatoes (Leftovers work great)
• 1/4 cup (1 oz) finely grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pan over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink. Drain in a colander.
2. In the same pan add 1 tablespoon of butter and the onion. Sprinkle on a little salt and saute for around 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened and translucent, but not browned. Add the garlic and carrots, saute for 5 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the cooked beef, peas, Italian seasoning, parsley, tomato paste, and flour. Stir well so the tomato paste and flour is well distributed.
4. Add the broth, red wine, and Worcester sauce. Stir, and bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer with a lid on for 15 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400f and butter a casserole dish.
6. Remove from the heat. Stir in the salt and pepper, taste and correct the seasoning if needed.
7. Pour the beef mixture into the prepared casserole dish and even it out. Add the prepared mashed potato to the top evenly. Then, using a fork make criss-cross tracks over the potatoes and sprinkle the cheese on top.
8. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 Generous Servings

Notes

• This is NOT an “authentic” recipe, for whatever that means to you. This is my recipe, this is how I like it. So, feel free to use other types of meat or leave out the garlic or wine, or even double the cheese. You could even go completely crazy and add mushrooms. I go crazy like that sometimes.