T think the only difference between cottage pie and spa bol is one has potatoes on top and the other has pasta on the bottom?

[TwosaCrowd]

Unless I've been doing something massively wrong all these years? Both just onion, garlic, mince, p'raps mushrooms and maybe chopped or grated carrot.

See I definitely put beef stock (aka an oxo cube) in both spam bol and cottage pie

It is exactly the same when my mum makes it but then my mum puts weird shit in her food. (not literally)

Spag bol is tomato / garlic / italian herbs

Shepherds pie is gravy

In fact the only similarities are onion and mince.

Would you also find cottage pie in Scarborough fair, bestzebbie

Cottage pie: made with beef mince, mixed veg, a small amount of gravy and a dash of relish, topped with potatos and cheese.

Shepherds pie: made with lamb mince, onion, and baked beans, topped with sweet potato.

Bolognese: made with any mince (I normally use pork), lentals, passata, chopped or plum tomatoes, Italian herbs, a dash of red wine, served with pasta or spaghetti.

YABU there is a huge difference between these 3 dishes.

I had cottage pie at Tom Kerridge's gaff and it had pastry, not potato on top.

So I thought perhaps it's mash for shepherd's pie?

I'd put a beef stock cube in both, and sometimes put tinned tomatoes in cottage pie. But spag bol has more tomato and/or passata, more garlic, and more herbs. Cottage pie has chutney in it ever since I had some made that way in a restaurant, and also often has baked beans in.

Mine are certainly interchangeable! I add extra veg with all minced meat concoctions and herbs and wine!

I agree that bolognese sauce is tomato and herb based, and cottage pie mix is meat and stock English style.

YABU for thinking Slimming World was a good source of authentic recipes.

Spag bol and cottage pie are two entirely different things with different ingredients. That slimming world goop is neither of them, its some kind of horrific hybrid of nastiness.

Bolognese is gorgeous with chicken livers added to the mince.

I agree that cottage pie should have lovely deep gravy and spag bol be herby and tomatoey and winey. You've made me want both of them. But they are totally different dishes.

That SW recipe is an abomination.

Bolognese - tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, Mediterranean veg

Shepherds Pie - gravy instead of tomatoes, Scarborough Fair herbs, carrots, peas

Cottage pie - as shepherds pie but with beef and a little fork pattern on top.

I put tomatoes in my Cottage pie.

Mine is quite similar. I prefer a more tomato sauce than a gravy for mine.

And mine is lovely

The only thing I don't put in my cottage pie is celery. The rest is similar.

"Shepherds pie: made with lamb mince, onion, and baked beans, topped with sweet potato."

sweet potato????????????????????????????????????????????? nope! nope! nope! normal mash!!!

(also on the original question, the 2 dishes are completely different!!)

YABU.

That Slimming World recipe sounds like some sort of cottage-bolognese hybrid.

I use BBC Good Food for my spaghetti bolognese and my cottage pie recipes.

Cottage pie:
Beef mince, onion, garlic, diced carrots, peas, flour, tomato puree, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, mash.

Spaghetti bolognese:
Beef mince, onion, celery (sometimes), garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock, basil, spaghetti.

DM puts Worcestershire sauce in her bolognese and it's one of the oddest things I've tasted.

And people are unreasonable to mix up cottage pie and shepherd's pie.

Cottage = beef
Shepherd's = lamb

That slimming world recipe is all kinds of wrong, the tomato will be because you can't have it with gravy and be syn free...mostly I find their recipes a bit dodgy anyway.

If you can cook a bit and are doing slimming world you're usually better off just adapting your own recipes.

Cottage pie/shepherd's pie has gravey in it. Spaghetti bol doesnt. I dont put carrots or peas in spag bol but would in the other. Very different meals imho.

The way of identifying the difference for me is cottage pie is brown and spag bol is read. NOW I better get on with making tea. Cottage pie coincidentally!

If you think that's bad, what about this one www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/easy-shepherds-pie.aspx

I don't put consomme in shepherd's pie.

And people are unreasonable to mix up cottage pie and shepherd's pie.
Cottage = beef
Shepherd's = lamb

definitely :o

Yes Dragon sweet potato. I am not a fan of ordinary mash I think it tastes rather bland. So as I refuse to put cheese on shepherds pie (cheese doesn't come from a lamb and has no place on a shepherd's pie), I top it with sweet potato instead.

The worst SW recipes are all the savoury dishes that include artificial sweetener as an ingredient - there are loads of them, such as:

www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/double-onion-and-thyme-frittata.aspx

www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/aloo-gobi.aspx

www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/moroccan-chicken-stew.aspx

WTF - recipes that no-one in their right mind would put sugar in, let alone artificial fucking sweetener.

My personal food identification rage is saved for those who don't know the difference between afternoon tea and high tea.

Good grief, who the fuck has been meddling with recipes?