Cottage Pie/Shepherds Pie whatever you call it

[jenk1]

saw Emma whatsherface on celebrity masterchef making this last night and it looked really good.
she put baked beans in hers, everytime ive made one it just tastes like really boring.

i fry my mince with onions and add a bit of gravy granules to make it meaty then mashed potato on the top and put in the oven and its boring. what am i doing wrong?
i really want to make one and have the ingredients.

We add diced carrot to ours - gives good colour and makes it more interesting.

I prefer Shepherds pie to Cottage. I put beans in mine too.

you could try minced lamb

shepherds pie is minced lamb, cottage pie is minced beef

also try different things - cayenne pepper, carrots, tomatoes, etc

Mine used to be really boring too and none of the kids ate it. Now I follow, more or less, a recipie from 'The Prawn Cocktail Years' and you add diced carrot and diced celery, chopped fine. Bit of puree (or ketchup), onion. They add anchovy paste but I've never done that. Lots of butter in mash..........yum and the kids eat it now.

a spoonful of marmite

A dash of worcester sauce

Fry the onion with half a tsp chilli powder,
add the mince,
then mushrooms,
an oxo,
baked beans,
capful of mushroom ketchup,
tbsp tomato puree
water if needed.

We usually have a bit of grated cheese grilled on top of the mash too.

niceglasses what a great name for a recipe book!

yy to carrots, peas, tom puree and a bit of garlic

herbs, salt & pepper

We would use either low fat beef mince or go the other way and have lamb!

in our cottage we have mushrooms, peppers, garlic, onions, diced carrot, worc sauce, bit of marmite, mixed herbs, salt and pepper, stock..... sure there more, oh mince, and mash made with parsnips and tatties.

slobber, drool

Add a tiny bit of cinnamon - tastes great.

What mince do you use? I mean is it fresh butchers just minced it or Supermarket pre packed?

I find the better the meat the better the flavour.

I fry mince + Onions when brown add bay leaf carrot, suede sometimes celery with enough meat stock to cover . To thicken the gravy I cheat and use a bit of bisto powder (not granules).

personally i use quorn mince

I second the herbs suggestion - I use thyme and/or coriander with beef & thyme/oregano/rosemary with lamb. I've also used pork, turkey & chicken in a potato topped pie, though I think with chicken it's nicer in chunks and with a bit of bacon or ham in.

I don't put veg in mine, except peppers because all the family prefer their veg separate.

My family also all prefer the potato topping to be very crispy, so I put some in a thin layer in the casserole lid and bake it next to the pie.

My dd's aren't so keen on it served as 'pie' they like the potato seperate, but they do LOve it served in a Yorkshire Pudding! I proper sized one!

Lamb mince with tinned tomatoes, sweetcorn and peas.

I use the juice from the tomatoes and a couple of oxo cubes for the stock. I like the marmite idea - will try that next time.

Lovely grilled cheesy top.

Served with baked beans on the side.

Yummy!

I usually put carrots in mine.

Baked beans you say...?

oooh lots of lovely suggestions, which one to choose?

i use ahem, supermarket mince, is that bad?

herbs, yes have those, got mixed, rosemary,corriander,thyme you name it.
carrots i will put in and i may well just chuck a tin of beans in as well!!!!

If you have a local butcher try their fresh mince, should have less liquid come off when you fry it. The better quality minced beef from the butcher is also alot leaner than most supermarket beef and not as chewy.

It should help with the flavour.

But only if a good butcher, ask around locally who to use if not sure.

Not to say all supermarkets are the same!

I find it cheeper too!

I brown some mince, make a gravy, add a tin of baked beans, cook that all together in the oven for 3 hours, then put in dish, mash on top, loads of cheese on top, cook for half an hour. If I wasn't making it for children I would put other veggies in - courgette, tomato, definitely onion and mushroom, possibly some pepper, but the kids won't eat it then!

Do you really cook mince & beans for 3 hours?
I brown mine for about 10 minutes on the hob then about twenty minutes in the oven, while I boil the spuds, plus however long it takes to brown the top (maybe half an hour)