to say that cottage pie is NOT a “weekday meal”

[RiddleMeThis2018]

Cottage pie is delicious. I know how to make it, but sometimes I like to look at a recipe online, to make sure I don’t put too much tomato in by mistake (disappointing, not to be recommended). Almost ALL the recipes say “delicious week-night supper” or similar. This is NOT a weeknight supper!! I couldn’t do it yesterday because the DCs and I got back from swimming too late. I’m not even working today and I had to psych myself up to it. The mince takes 50 mins to simmer, and that’s after all the chopping. Then there’s 20 mins in the oven assuming you time the potatoes right. And then the washing up!

I don’t blame cottage pie. I blame the website writers who want to make me think I should just whip this up on a Thursday when I get in from work. AIBU?

They're being tw@ts for saying that a quicker version isn't possible and if it is, it must be crap, it is possible and it isn't crap. There's ways of making it that don't require anywhere near as much effort as some take. Jamie Oliver does his in even less time in fact, anyone telling him his must be crap?
itsthemother.com/cottage-pie-recipe/

This recipe is "adapted" from the Jamie Oliver version. The link goes a website where the only "cottage pie" is a vegetarian dish! His meat version takes several hours apparently.

@happybunny007 Honestly, I can see it now. The laughter, the tears, the recipes that have been passed down through generations of terrible cooks, the victories, the disappointments. Much like the X Factor, but with mince.

628 comments on cottage pie! I love mumsnet!

Dungeondragon15
That's some funny veggie recipe 🤦‍♂️

All depends
I could make cottage pie in maybe 45 mins but it wouldn't taste as good as the version I prefer. Same with spaghetti bolognese

I've just done a quick Google. There are recipes for quick cottage pies and Delia does a cheat's one involving tinned mince and frozen mash.

But all the chefs doing a 'traditional' cottage pie emphasise long, slow cooking of the meat in stock that turns into gravy. No one bungs it under a grill for browning. On ave, I'd say the minimum seems to be 45-60 mins actual hands-off cooking, after the initial browning on the hob, and some say a lot more.

So unless you prefer the quick stir-fry version, or batch cook and freeze, deffo not a weekday supper.

I like the trad version because it's so forgiving. Once it's in the oven, you can turn the temperature up or down to suit whatever else is going on, you can make it the day before and it's easy to do large quantities to feed a lot of people for a hot buffet.

Dungeondragon15
That's some funny veggie recipe

That's a recipe by someone called Megan Porter not Jamie Oliver. She says that she adapted it from Jamie Oliver's recipe and links to his site but the only "cottage pie" recipe on there is vegetarian.

It’s not special enough for Saturday or Sunday

We eat the same things whatever the day of the week.

There's ways of making it that don't require anywhere near as much effort as some take.

Of course. But they might be minging.

St. Delia says you only need simmer the mince for 30 minutes & then put under the grill to brown: www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/one-is-fun/cheese-and-herb-crusted-cottage-pie

There is a wide variety of recipes online which specify very different cooking times, so we should all agree to differ.

Cornflakes on toast is a weekday meal if you want it to be.

M&S used to do a lovely one that only took 35 minutes but they changed the recipe

It’s not special enough for Saturday or Sunday

We eat the same things whatever the day of the week.

Same...are we meant to just eat special treat type food on the weekends?! How bizarre. We also just eat same type of stuff.

Love it as a week day meal but it's always been frozen totally agree could not cook from scratch when getting in a 6pm

Mince cooked slowly over 2 hours tastes far better and has a better texture than quick cooked mince. A decent cottage pie takes at least 2 hours. It can be done more quickly if you pre-cook the mince and use that.

I've used more expensive mince and I don't think it needs as much time to cook.

Aaaaargh! Why overcomplicate things? It's minced beef and potatoes, get over yourself. Two hours my absolute arse.

I could produce a three course dinner for fucking Masterchef in two hours, cottage pie is supposed to be an easy, uncomplicated family meal with no frills and no pissing about, aching over authenticity and prime cuts of rilly naice mince. Though it does take slightly longer than sometimes I would prefer to spend cooking on a weekday evening.

Its easy, but costs time! who has 45 min to do an evening meal? if you work full time with a short commute you are home just around 5:30. cooking for 45 minutes means food at 6:15 the earliest, if you have young kids, that means its bed directly after eating - not grear.
if you are part time or sahp, you have tons of time, so you don’t need a quick meal
most days!

A proper one (and proper lagasne/fish pie) take me longer and wouldn't do it after work/school - but I just cheat like pps and cook the sauce (I don't simmer the mince and tastes ok to us) while boiling potatoes (we do mash with skins on). I mash the potato then grill it with a little cheese in top and serve separately, don't bother making it into an actual pie.

I put tomato in mine :)

It's traditionally an easy uncomplicated family meal for Mondays - laundry day - but only when you're using up scraps from a big joint on Sunday. People don't have that sort of big joint any more. Or I don't.

I don't use rilly naice lean mince because the fattier cheap variety has more flavour. You can skim off the fat, if it offends. I usually cook it in advance and the fat sets hard so it's easy to remove most of it. I treat it like shin of beef - which makes the best stews and casseroles, despite being a cheaper cut.

You don't have to slave over it for 2 hours, because it's getting on with cooking itself in the oven. But you do need to think ahead. So, no, it's not something you rustle up from scratch on a school/work night.

Delia's recipe was 'For One'. Sad that those living alone are condemned to an inferior version. Her usual shepherd's/cottage pies take much longer and don't get bunged under the grill for speed.

@Thymeout its s great easy meal - for a housewife/househusband who is at home all day with loads of time at home (although might be doing other stuff around the house). its impossible make a really nice version in the 20-30 minutes most working people have to make dinner

Yes it can be! I cook a kilo of mince beforehand in my slow-cooker, with onions, stock, garlic etc. Then I separate it into portions and freeze. All you have to do then on the day is defrost your mince, top with mashed potatoes and brown in oven. Quick and easy that way.

2 hours to cook mince, otherwise it is chewy or gristly, no its not. slowely sweating onions, while chopping spuds small dices, thinly slicing carrotts,kettle boiling,carrotts, spuds in boiling water, meat in, browning, stock cube, tomato paste, salt,pepper simmering while veg cooks. I will probably also add,mushrooms and frozen peas to meat, when veg is cooked meat into dish, mashed spuds on top(I like sweet potato) sprinkle with grated cheese, under the grill 30 minutes.

forgot, I use water from carrots to make more stock, and add to meat pan