Comfort Food ~ Cottage Pie

Dinner is served.  As with all recipes there are so many versions of Shepherd’s Pie, but unless you use lamb it isn’t a true Shepherd’s Pie.  Lamb is not easy to come by in my neighborhood grocer, so ground beef is the main ingredient in our “Cottage Pie”.   This dish is easy enough to put together and is comfort food for those cold “SPRING” days.  Sharing the recipe is more for my own safe keeping, since I know you all can put together your version of this dish. 

Mashed Potato Topping:

• 5-6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into thirds
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup Irish extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Chives, chopped for garnish

Boil a large pot of water. Peel the potatoes and cut into thirds. Boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. Drain potatoes, I then use my potato ricers to mash and then place them back into the pan. Add the milk, sour cream, butter, cheddar cheese, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper then mash with a masher or blend with a mixer…lucky me I have a potato ricer that I can’t live without~ Cover with a lid and set aside.

Meat Filling and Sauce:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef
• 1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup frozen edamane thawed
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cup beef broth

While the potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery then cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the lean ground beef and cook thoroughly. Add the thyme, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Once the beef is done cooking, mix the peas into the mixture until well combined. Pour the beef filling into a large baking dish and set aside. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoons of Irish butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix thoroughly then slowly add the beef broth. Season with sea salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the beef mixture and mix thoroughly. Top the beef and vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Top with chopped chives.

A few changes to the vegetables that are usually in cottage pie for my family.  DD hates PEAS so they are never added.