Cottage Pie

"Cottage pie refers to an English meat pie made with beef mince and with a crust made from mashed potato. A variation on this dish using Lamb mince is known as Shepherd's pie.

The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791,when potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural -workers)." -Wikipedia

Cottage pie. I've come across it a few times in Neeldom. Sounds like it has something to do with cottage cheese. Nope. It doesn't. It's just shepherds pie...made with beef mince (British word alert! It's ground beef). I found a recipe on allrecipes.com called "Proper English Cottage Pie" - Alex and I gave it a whirl today. Most of the ingredients were pretty straightforward - except the half teaspoon of ground cinnamon. That was different. I wasn't sure that I would like it - but I did. It gave it almost a Moroccan flavor - so it didn't taste quite so much like ground beef. I might cut down the cinnamon just a little next time. And there will be a next time (just so I can use my little cast iron pots...that I've had for 2 years and never used).

Dr. van der Stevejinck and Alex liked it quite well. Daniel van der Stevejinck loved the mashed potatoes and cheese...but not so much the filling. I enjoyed it. Definitely a cold weather food - or possibly a Dutch oven meal for camping.

Proper English Cottage Pie (allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.To Make Meat Filling: Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef and saute 1 minute. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until meat is no longer pink and onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour, cinnamon, mixed herbs, and parsley.
3.In a small bowl, combine beef broth and tomato paste. Mix together, then add to beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. 4.To Make Potato Topping: Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and place over high heat. Allow to come to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
5.Mash potatoes until smooth, then add butter or margarine, followed by milk. Whip until fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over beef filling. Sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese.
6.Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned and cheese is bubbly.
[Betty Debbie] I added salt to the filling - the recipe was unclear about that - but I felt it needed a little. Also, don't add all that milk to the potatoes unless they need it. I was in a hurry and just dumped it all in...the mashed potatoes were a little runny.