Give me an exciting Cottage Pie recipe

[GinAndOnIt]

Is there such a thing?

I've got mince and potatoes that both need eating up. I find cottage pie so incredibly dull though. Can you give me some twists to make it a bit more appealing? Shall I roast some carrots to put in it?

Something nice for the mash maybe. I don't really like mash, but it's okay with half a block of melted cheese on top.

Fry onion, garlic and grated carrot, add the mince and brown thoroughly. Add a rich beef stock pot, a glass of red wine, lots of Worcestershire sauce, a few balls of frozen spinach, s&p and a good squirt of tomato purée. Let it bubble for 20 mins or so. Meanwhile mash pots with melted butter and milk, lots of s&p, and a dollop of grainy mustard. Fork all over the top and add dollops of butter, put in oven until brown and crispy on top and bubbling underneath. Serve with peas. Yummy!!

Thanks swifey - red wine aside that is mostly what I do, but I'll scrabble around to try and find some dregs in the bottom of a bottle

I haven't made it since my nannying days, and then it was always for weaners/toddlers - so perhaps I'm remembering the bland child version. Reading your post made my mouth water!

I like making mash with half normal and half sweet potato or half swede :)

^ I do the same.

Also, make it the day before if possible. It tastes 100 times better the next day!

Secret ingredient is a good dollop of tomato sauce...and cheese in mash.

get the mince part rich and well seasoned...a few bits of bacon in with the onions help....and use celery, I don't care if you don't like it it really works to give a denser flavour. Also very finely diced carrot will give a sweetness.

Sweat the veg off properly...low heat, lid on pan

And really brown the mince on a searing heat.

I often add in leeks, but i really like them :D

Chives in the mash and loads of butter and cream too.

I like this slimming world version:

www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/cowboy-pie.aspx

Essentially you add in baked beans / kidney beans and smoked paprika into the mince mixture, which makes it really tasty! You can also add chives or spring onions into the mash which makes that a bit more interesting!

(you don't have to do the slimming world tweaks like using oil spray you can just use oil and normal mince, etc)

we make it basically as above but add some curry powder and chilli powder to the onion when cooking them. Then add some red lentils to the meat me extra meat. Add some cooked pumpkin or squash to the mash.

Indian cottage pie is the best. though not authentic

Ton I love celery and always add it to this kind of thing

I'd rather not start adding chillies or curry powder, just because I'm constantly making spicy chilli or curries for DP when I don't bloody like spicy food, so one meal without would be nice!

Will have a go at some of the mash extras though, thanks

I lightly fry some chorizo or pancetta to add to the mince. Very tasty. As well as lots of the above.

This is yummy

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-3235567/Simply-Nigella-Indian-spiced-shepherd-s-pie.html

I always add beans to ours to bulk it out a bit, I like the kidney beans in chilli sauce or a tin of mixed...but baked beans work fine too. We also do the half normal half sweet potato mash, sometimes use carrots instead of sweet potato.
My secret ingredients are cinnamon and chocolate powder added to the mince mix just before the stock, you can't really taste them individually, they just add a richness and slight twang to the flavour. You will need to play around a bit to find what ratio is right for you as depends on how much your making.... mine is usually for between 8-14 people depending on who's home and whether anyone else is staying or not!