Cottage Pie - a dish with deep roots in British cuisine. Historical references to it appear in the 18th century. It was then that potatoes became accessible to the poorer classes of Britain. Therefore, the basic recipe for cottage pie is any meat left over from preparing main dishes, mixed with vegetables and covered with a thick layer of mashed potatoes. This combination was then baked in the oven until a crispy crust formed.The concept of the dish was to effectively use leftovers from all products that remained, for example, after dinner (hello to the kitchens of three-star Egyptian hotels with a buffet). This allowed for the rational use of absolutely all products and dishes, preventing their waste and spoilage. At the same time, such a tactic was economically advantageous, as the financial resources of the population were significantly limited. The pie is named after "cottages" — rural huts where peasants lived. Often, cottage pie is confused with another popular British dish — Shepherd’s Pie. Although these two dishes look similar, there are several key differences between them. Cottage pie is made with pork or beef, as these are more accessible and simply cheaper types of meat. In contrast, Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb. Lamb was the main source of meat for shepherds (hence the name "Shepherd"). Additionally, green peas and sometimes pumpkin are added to its meat filling.
Time required: up to 2 hours
Difficulty: 3 out of 5
Cost: above average
We will need:
For the meat filling:
900 g minced meat (we used a mix of pork and veal)
2 medium onions
2 carrots
100 g celery root
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp flour
300 ml tomato juice
150 ml dry red wine
8 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
a pinch of thyme
складові м'ясної начинки
For the mashed potatoes:
1.5 kg potatoes (weight unpeeled)
150 ml milk
150 g hard cheese (we used Gouda, the British usually use cheddar)
salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
продуктовий набір для пюре та сирної скоринки
Preparation
From personal experience, we recommend first peeling the potatoes, cutting them into slices, and putting them to boil in salted water. During this time, you can prepare the ingredients for the meat filling and actually cook it.
спочатку варимо картоплю
The potatoes are on the fire, so it's time to clean and cut the vegetables. We cut them into small cubes (something between brunoise and mirepoix).
нарізані корінь селери та морква
нарізаний часник та нашаткована цибуля
Heat the pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil for frying, add the minced meat and sauté until slightly browned.
починаємо обсмажувати фарш
Add the carrots and celery root to the meat, sauté for 7 minutes.
+ морква з селерою
Add the chopped onion and garlic, sauté for another 7 minutes.
+ цибуля та часник
Add Worcestershire sauce, mix well, and sauté for 5 minutes.
+ вустерський соус
Add the wine and let it evaporate.
+ червоне сухе вино
Add salt, mix well. Add dried thyme, pepper.
Add flour to the tomato juice and mix well.
додаємо борошно
...та ретельно вимішуємо
Pour the finished mixture into the pan, mix well. Simmer for another 5 minutes, after which we can place the meat filling into forms and proceed to prepare the puree.
додаємо до м'ясної начинки фінальний інгредієнт
From the specified amount of ingredients for the meat filling, we managed to fill 2 forms, as we slightly overestimated the size of the one we planned to cook in. As a result, we ended up with not one, but two pies.
викладаємо м'ясну начинку у форми шаром товщиною 3-4 см
Drain the water from the potatoes, mash thoroughly with a masher, and add room temperature milk.
зливаємо воду
додаємо молоко
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, add half to the puree. Also add a pinch of nutmeg and mix well.
додаємо половину натертого сиру
додаємо мускатний горіх
Spread the puree over the meat filling, starting from the edges. Move around the perimeter of the form, and only then move to the center.
викладаємо пюре
продовжуємо викладати пюре по периметру
зформований шар з пюре квадратної форми
зформований шар з пюре круглої форми
When the meat filling is completely covered with puree, sprinkle the formed pie with the remaining grated cheese.
посипали сиром
посипали сиром-2
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, turn on the convection mode.
перед запіканням
Bake for 40 minutes. The indicator of the pie's readiness is that the cheese will turn into a crust and take on a golden-brown color. Remove from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, and enjoy the aromatic dish with rich flavors.
