Cottage pie, how do you make yours?

[CornishTeaTime]

Just interested on how everyone makes theirs

I always use this recipe but with a red wine stock pot to replace the wine, and a bit of marmite added

www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk/traditional-cottage-pie/

Everyone loves the marmite!

Carrots and onions finely diced
Fry gently until soft..add garlic
Add mince and fry until well browned.
Add tomato puree, stock, red wine, dried herbs, tiny pinch of sugar, dash of worcestershire sauce.
Simmer for about half an hour
Put in baking dish...top with frozen mash because life's too short.
Grated cheddar on top
Bake until bubbling and brown

Brown mince, drain.

Onion and carrots into pan, fry off, we like chunky carrots.

Mince back to pan, stock pot, bisto (granules, very important!), water to cover. Simmer for an hour. Add frozen peas.

All to cool down otherwise the mash is a nightmare to spread. Cheese on top of the mash at request of children.

Ooo carrots and puree .... good call, like that

I don’t add onions as one in household doesn’t like them, so I add Worcester Sauce, tomato purée (if it was my choice I would add a tin of chopped tomatoes), some herbs and a little chilli, just for taste.

Fry onion and garlic, brown minced beef, add an Oxo cube (crumbled), bit of tomato puree, let cool for a bit, add mashed potato (roughed up with a fork), cook in oven until mash goes crispy-ish

Serve with veg, and Bisto gravy

I've recently bought my first bag of frozen mash & if you don't mind me asking, do you just put it on the pie frozen or do you defrost it first?

I made one last week with a new recipe , all pretty standard , apart from adding a raw grated parsnip to the mash potato topping before cooking . I wasn’t convinced, but it was delicious and the parsnip cooked through which I was concerned about .

I get the one which is kind of in frozen blocks so I lay them out across the mash whilst they're frozen...then bake from frozen...half way through though I take it out and kind of spread it out with a fork in case there's any gaps between the blocks as they've cooked...if that makes sense!

@Comedycook that makes perfect sense. This will change my life so thank you.

I soften garlic and onions, add snippets of bacon and cook it until it's crisp, then add mince and brown that. Once the mince is browned I add vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce and red wine. I might add diced carrots if I have some or diced red peppers. Then I simmer it all for a good 45 minutes or until reduced.

In the meantime I boil potatoes to make the mash topping and once they're ready, mash them with horseradish.

The mash goes on top of the mince and is raked with a fork, then I add cheese and grill it until browned.

The addition of bacon is something I saw Jamie Oliver do once btw!

I soften onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Add mince (I use 5% fat) fry til browned. Add some plain flour and cook it out for a couple of min. Add a large glass of red wine, simmer for a min or two. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat, a good glug of worcester sauce. I then cook on low in the oven for at least 1.5 hours so beef is really tender. Once out of oven transfer to ceramic baking dish. Leave to cook/firm up a bit. Top with mash and grated cheese. Back in oven til golden.

I make a "special occasion" version using chunks of beef shin (other ingredients the same) and cook until falling apart, shred it into the sauce and top with the mash.

Fry lean beef mince with no or minimum oil depending on whether it’s sticking to the pan or not
Add chopped onion and fry some more
Add tomato purée (lots), Worcester sauce, splash of balsamic vinegar or teaspoon of chutney, teeny tiny amount of chilli powder, and enough tap water to make a sloppy mix
Simmer on hob for about 20 mins with a lid on the pan so it doesn’t dry out too much

Mashed potatoes using real potatoes and grated cheese

Assemble in a casserole dish and heat through in oven for about half an hour

Serve with separate veg and gravy

Bbc good food cottage pie it's really good!

Mine is really simple. Fry onion and mince together ( so you don’t need to add any extra fat) until mince is brown and onion softened. Add enough water to make a decent amount of gravy and lots of fresh ground black pepper. Add a tsp of herbs, lately I have used dried thyme. Simmer for 30 mins. Blend Bisto gravy powder with a little cold water and add to the mince mix. Bring to boil and add more water or Bisto to get the consistency you like. No need to add salt. Top with fresh mashed potato and bake for approx 40 mins until browned. So, no need to make separate gravy as the meat mixture has plenty of gravy.