Local Food Blog

There has to be an English dish in the list of the best delicacies of all time. So here it is… Cottage Pie! People who have tasted this piece of magic will immediately understand what I am trying to say. As for those of you who haven’t, well, I will say that it is one of the many brilliant things that the British have given to the world. The folks in England make this dish with mutton or lamb and call it Shepherd’s Pie. However, we are discussing the other version of it that is made in the Americas, New Zealand and Australia.

The dish is believed to have originated sometime in the 1870’s and since then, it has been a favorite for all those people who have tasted it. But keeping the origins and the naming conventions aside, Cottage Pie is a casserole that is lined with numerous vegetables and beef and is mostly topped with mashed potatoes and baked.

The ingredients used in this pie can be tweaked here and there. Even the kind of meat used in it can be changed. However, I personally prefer beef. Therefore, I have mentioned a recipe that I use to make Cottage Pie. So here it goes.

Essential Ingredients:
Here is a list of the ingredients that you will require to prepare this dish.

• 1 ½ pounds of round beef, minced.
• 1 onion finely chopped.
• One or Two cups of vegetables like carrots, peas and corn.
• Eight Tablespoons of butter.
• ½ a cup of beef broth.
• One teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
• Salt and Pepper. Other seasonings if required.
• Two pounds of potatoes.

Method of Preparation:
Here is step by step guide as to go about making the Cottage Pie once you have put together all the ingredients listed above.

• Peel all the potatoes and cut them into four pieces each.
• Boil them in salt water until they turn tender.
• Meanwhile, melt four tablespoons of butter in a skillet.
• Cook the onions in the butter for about ten minutes and stop when they are tender.
• You can cook the vegetables as well, but make sure that it is done according to the cooking time for each of those vegetables. For example, the carrots can be cooked with the onions while the peas or the corn have to be cooked before or after the onions are cooked.
• Add the beef and cook it until it is no longer pink in color.
• Add the Worcestershire sauce and the beef broth and cook it uncovered for ten minutes and on low heat.
• Mash the potatoes in a bowl and add the seasoning according to your requirements.
• Put the beef and the onions in a baking dish and top them with the mashed potatoes.
• Rough the mixture up with a fork so that it will brown appropriately.
• The fork can also be used to make some designs if required.
• Cook the mixture in the oven for half an hour in a temperature of 400 degrees.
• Continue doing so till the mixture is brown and bubbling.
• Serve the Cottage pie hot.