Tessa's Cottage Pie

 Not everyone makes a heavy meat and potatoes dish like this in the middle of July...but I do!

Sometimes I just crave simple comfort food like this, even when it's 90 degrees outside.

Other times I'm just in the mood for a little time in the kitchen. A little kitchen therapy we'll call it.

  Plus, I also have summers off and that's when I have the most time to make those dishes I've been wanting to make throughout the year.

So, Happy July...we're having Cottage Pie for supper!

 

I'm sure everyone has heard of the British classic named Shepherd's Pie, a dish of ground meat (namely lamb) under a layer of mashed potato. Well, Cottage Pie is like Shepherd's Pie cousin, or maybe even it's sibling, because it is the same exact thing except Cottage Pie is typically made with beef. So to recap, Shepherd's Pie=Lamb and Cottage Pie=Beef!

Both dishes are absolutely comforting and delicious and one can hardly go wrong with either!

I have made my fair share of Shepherd's Pie and I can tell you that this Cottage Pie tastes almost the same is actually much easier to source as I typically always have ground beef.

Tessa's Cottage Pie filling is a mixture of ground beef, onion, carrot, garlic, peas, tomato sauce, bay leaf, allspice berries, basil, and parsley that cooks down on the stove for about an hour. The time is well spent because the flavors have time to concentrate. The entire mixture gets covered with fluffy butter mashed potatoes and then baked until the potatoes puff up, turn golden brown, and start to go crispy.

We loved this dish and will definitely make it again!

 

Cottage Pie

Adapted from Apples For Jam

by Tessa Kiros

Serves 6 to 8

6 tablespoons olive oil

1-3/4 pounds ground beef

4 tablespoons dry white wine

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce

salt

1 bay leaf

2 allspice berries

4 basil leaves, torn

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 cups hot water

2/3 cup shelled peas

7 to 8 medium potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled

3 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup milk

a little freshly grated nutmeg

Heat half the oil in a nonstick frying pan and fry the ground beef over fairly high heat for about 10 minutes until it is golden brown, stirring often and breaking up any clusters with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. When the wine has evaporated, remove the pan from the heat.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onion for 5 minutes or so over low-medium heat until it is lightly golden and a bit sticky. Add the garlic and carrot, and saute for a few minutes more so that the carrot looks a bit caramelized. Add the tomato sauce and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the browned beef. Season well with salt and add the bay leaf, allspice berries, basil, and parsley. Stir in 2 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to low, cover the pan ,and cook for 30 minutes. Add a little water if the meat sauce seems very dry; it should neither be runny nor too stiff. Check the seasoning and try to find all the allspice berries.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water for about 30 minutes (depending on their size) until they are soft enough to mash. Drain, and when they're cool enough to handle, peel and mash, or pass through a food mill. In a small saucepan, heat the butter and milk and, when the butter has melted, add to the potatoes. Add the nutmeg, taste for salt, and mix to a soft and fluffy mash (add a little more butter or milk if it seems too stiff).

Butter a 10-cup ovenproof dish or 6 to 8 individual dishes. Spoon in the meat sauce, smoothing the surface, and then spoon mashed potato over top, spreading it very gently to completely cover the sauce. Roughen the mash with a fork here and there so you get some crispy bits. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is softly crusted and golden in places. 

Kitchen Travels @ IHCC