Cottage Pie Recipe
The flavors in this cottage pie recipe, with slow-cooked onions, beef, and root vegetables with cheesy mashed potato topping, are amazing.
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 peeled and small diced yellow onion
- 2 rinsed, quartered, and thinly sliced leeks
- 2 peeled small-diced carrots
- 1 cup peeled and small-diced celeriac root
- 1 cup peeled and small-diced turnip
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 cup red wine
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- Coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Topping:
- 5 pounds peeled quartered russet potatoes
- ½ to ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 stick + ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups shredded Dubliner cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- coarse sea salt and ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large rondeau pot over medium high heat.
- Place in the ground beef and cook on all sides to sear it until browned and cooked throughout, which takes about 6 to 7 minutes. Stir this frequently.
- Set the beef to the side on a plate and then add the onions and leeks to the pot with the rendered meat fat and caramelize the onions over low to medium heat for up to 45 minutes or until very well browned, sweet, and tender.
- Next, add in the carrots, celeriac root, and turnips and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat just until very lightly browned.
- Stir in the garlic and cook it just until it becomes fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Add back in the beef to the pan and stir it until combined.
- Deglaze with the red wine and cook it until au sec or almost gone, which takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste until the ingredients are coated.
- Next, sprinkle in the flour and stir it to combine.
- Pour in the beef stock and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until thick.
- Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and thyme. Adjust any seasonings and stirring these in and tasting it. If you like Dijon mustard go with the full 2 tablespoons.
- Transfer the beef filling to a deep 13x9 pan. Briefly set it aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water add in the potatoes and cook for 12 to 13 minutes or until tender.
- Drain the potatoes and hand mash them or run them through a food mill until smooth.
- Fold in the buttermilk, melted butter, 1 cup of cheese, egg yolks, salt, and ground white pepper until mixed on. Transfer to optional piping bag with a large star or round tip.
- Add the potatoes to the top of the pan with the beef filling in any design you want. You can do stars, zig sags, fleurettes, or even just add to the top and smooth it out.
- Garnish with a ¼ cup of melted butter and ½ cup of cheese. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
- Sprinkle on an optional garnish of chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten immediately; however, keep it warm in the oven covered in foil at low temperatures for up to 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and place it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This will freeze covered for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: If you reheat the cottage pie, place it in the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until warmed. When heating up a single portion, I recommend warming it in the microwave.
If you can’t find Dubliner cheese, substitute for gruyere or your favorite aged white cheddar cheese.
You can use Yukon potatoes for the topping if you’d like.
The pot I used for the filling was 7 quarts.
You can easily cut this recipe in half.
You may need to add more buttermilk or melted butter to the mashed potatoes to get the consistency right. They should be creamy and smooth but stand upright when scooping them onto a plate.
Nutrition
Calories: 610kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 28gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 436mgPotassium: 1578mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 665IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 224mgIron: 5mg