Cottage pie, also known as Shepards Pie is one of those iconic dishes that has been around for centuries, and for good reason…well…because…it’s delicious! Have you ever wondered what the difference between a Cottage Pie and Shepard’s Pie is? A Shepard’s Pie is made with ground lamb and a Cottage Pie is made with ground beef.
Combining meat with potatoes makes for a truly tantalizing flavor combo. If you think about it, these two items paired together, make up so many of our favorite meals. A few of my favorites, a big fat juicy grilled rib eye steak with a baked potato loaded with butter and sour cream, or how about Steak & Potato Nachos?
Another favorite…Rouladen served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.
Even a simple steak hash topped with melted cheese makes my mouth water!
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes…the list goes on and on and on…
Make the potato topping:
Heat a large pot of water and season generously with salt.
Peel and cut three pounds potatoes into equal sized chunks.
TIP: Start water heating as you peel and chop potatoes. As you chop each potato, drop the chunks into the pot. This prevents them from oxidizing as you prep the remaining potatoes. Once water comes to a boil, cover pot with a lid and reduce heat to a good simmer.
Simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes.
Press cooked potatoes through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl.
TIP: Pressing cooked potatoes through a ricer instead of using a masher will create a much creamier, lighter mashed potato crust for the pie.
Add ¾ cup warm milk, 6 tablespoons melted butter and ½ cup sour cream.
Add egg yolks and season with salt and pepper.
Stir until well combined. Set potato mixture aside while preparing filling.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Make the meat filling:
Dice a large yellow onion.
Strip leaves off two sprigs of fresh rosemary and chop.
Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat, in a large cast iron skillet.
Add diced onion and chopped rosemary and sauté until onions are soft and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add ground beef to the skillet. Break up the beef with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook until meat is no longer pink and spoon off any excess grease.
Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, sprinkle 1½ tablespoons flour over meat mixture and add 1 tablespoon cooking sherry to the skillet. Cook for another 2-3 minutes to cook off raw flour taste.
Add the can of beef consommé.
Add peas and carrots to the skillet and stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer until liquid thickens and reduces.
Remove pan from heat and stir in ½ cup chopped parsley.
Bake Casserole:
Spread potato mixture evenly over the meat mixture in the pan.
Pour 3 tablespoons melted butter over the mashed potatoes. Letting it pool in the valleys of mashed potato.
Oh my goodness…pools of butter? How can anything with “pools of melted butter” not be phenomenal? You know this is going to be good!
Top with ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake pie in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and and filling is hot and bubbling.
TIP: Filling will bubble up along the edges as it cooks. Either place pan on a cookie sheet before baking to catch any spills, or line the bottom of the oven with foil to catch any drippings that bubble up from the pan.
To serve:
Allow pie to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Place a generous scoop of the meat filling and cheesy, buttery, creamy potato topping into a bowl and top with additional chopped parsley to serve.
THIS WAS PHENOMENAL!!! Accidentally using 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 Chorizo resulted in a slightly spicy filling. It was flavorful and perfect with the creamy, buttery mashed potatoes! This turned into a happy accident! The traditional recipe calls for using all ground beef, but if you happen to have a pound of Chorizo, use it! You won’t regret it…I promise!!!
Cottage Pie
Equipment
- Large cast iron skillet
- Potato ricer
Ingredients
For the CRUST:
- 3 lbs pototoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- salt, to season cooking water
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 6 tbsp melted butter
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly cracked
For the FILLING:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-4 cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 lbs ground beef, can use 1 lb beef & 1 lb Chorizo
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp cooking sherry
- 10½ oz can condensed beef consommé, or use beef broth
- 12 oz frozen peas & carrots
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Topping:
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley, as garnish
Instructions
Make potato topping:
- Heat a large pot of water and season generously with salt.
- Add peeled potato chunks and simmer in water until potatoes are soft, about 20-25 minutes.
- Drain potatoes.
- Press cooked potatoes through a potato ricer.
- Add ¾ cup warm milk, ½ cup sour cream, 6 tablespoons melted butter and 2 egg yolks. Stir ingredients together until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper. Set potato mixture aside while preparing meat filling.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Make meat filling:
- While potatoes are cooking, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat, in a large cast iron skillet.
- Sauté diced onion and rosemary until onions are soft and begining to carmelize, about 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef to the skillet. Break up the beef with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook until meat is no longer pink.
- Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Spoon off any excess grease.
- Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1½ tablspoons flour and 1 tablespoon cooking sherry to the skillet, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the beef consommé, and peas and carrots to the skillet.
- Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until liquid thickens and reduces. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in ½ cup freshly chopped parsley.
Bake Casserole:
- Spread potato mixture evenly over the meat mixture in the cast iron pan.
- Pour 3 tablespoons melted butter over the mashed potatoes.
- Top with ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake pie in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and and filling is hot and bubbling.
To serve:
- Allow pie to rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Place a generous scoop of the meat filling and cheesy potato topping into a shallow bowl and top with additional chopped parlsey to serve.
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