I’ve been calling this shepherd’s pie all week. And then I found out that because I made it with beef, it is actually cottage pie. Oops.
The pie was delicious and filling. The only problem? I forgot to add some flour and broth to bind the ingredients together and add a bit of moisture. Another oops.
I included in italics the way that I would make it next time, but fair warning: I haven’t actually tried this yet. And word to the wise: it is still amazing just the way it is without the flour and broth.
Cottage Pie
Serves 4
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, skin on
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 1/2-2 cups)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 pound ground beef
Preheat the oven to 400F and grease an 8×8″ baking dish.
Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove cover and boil until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Using a masher or immersion blender, mash the potatoes with the cooking water and butter until creamy.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and beginning to brown. Stir in the oregano and rosemary and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Next time, I’d add in 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour here and stir well. Then I’d add 1 cup of broth and cook until it was partially reduced.
Remove the vegetables from the pan and spread in the baking dish. Add the beef to the skillet and cook until the inside is no longer pink.
Layer the beef on top of the vegetables. Top with mashed potatoes.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400F, until the potatoes start to brown on the top. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
mmm mmm what a fantastically veggie idea!
I have to say I usually add beef or lamb to my “pies” but I need to try it veggie-fied
It’s actually kind of cool to see an in-progress recipe. It would be fun to see a series of blog posts on the evolution of a recipe.
Or, maybe I’m a big cooking/blog nerd.
That’s okay, I am too!
Wow this looks fabulous! I made a healthified shepherds pie for St. Patty’s but this looks awesome, I’ll have to add this to my growing list of recipes to try!
I’ll do ya one better. My mom makes this with corn and calls it, “Hide the Pea.” It looks delicious, comforting and I want some.
Yum. I love corn. I assume there are peas mixed in there, too?
Oh, nope, no peas. There was supposed to be one hidden for one lucky eater to find, but my mom actually never did that part.
This looks yummy and easy to make. Next time I take out ground beef, definately gonna try it!