Cottage Pie (with a potato gem topping)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves - crushed
- 2 celery sticks - finely diced
- 2 carrots - finely diced or grated
- 1 zucchini - finely diced or grated
- 500 grams beef mince
- ¼ cup plain flour
- 500 ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme - or 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup peas
- potato gems - about half a bag for a serve of 4.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat Add onion and garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the carrots, celery and zucchini and cook for 3 minutes or until softened.
- Add mince, breaking it up with a fork and cook until browned all over.
- Add flour and mix in. Add tomato paste, stock, worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Bring to simmer, then turn down heat so it bubbles away. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add peas and check seasoning (add more if needed), stir to combine.
- While the pie filling is cooking, place the potato gems on a large oven tray and bake for 20 minutes. Once cooked place on top of pie pan and serve.
Tips and Variations
VEGETARIAN - Use 2 tins of brown lentils in place of the mince (or use a mince alternative)
GLUTEN FREE - if using GF flour
SHORTCUTS AND VARIATIONS:
If you have a bottle of red wine open, add 100ml to the dish and use 100ml less stock.
Swap the beef mince for lamb mince.
