COTTAGE PIE
Ingredients
- 300g carrots (or however much you would like. I used a packet of fresh store bought julienne cut carrots which I cut into tiny pieces)
- 1 can of petit pois ( or any packet of peas you prefer)
- 500g beef mince
- 5 ml brandy/cognac
- 1 diced onion
- 1 tsp of crushed garlic
- Butter
- 5 – 6 peeled and cooked potatoes
- Spanish smoked paprika after taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Meat spice of your choosing to taste
- 2 tbsp of tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp of chutney
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire
- Milk and butter for the mash
- About 1-2 cups of grated cheese
Sauté a lump of butter with the onion and garlic. After about 5 min add the carrots and the peas and sauté further for about 6 min. Add the mince and the rest of the ingredients, except for the potatoes, milk and cheese. Simmer the mince mixture until everything is cooked (you can add a bit of water if the mixture becomes to dry) this will be 30 – 45 min depending on the heat and type o stove you have.
Mash the cooked potatoes and add about 300 ml of milk. Mix it through and add salt and pepper to taste. Be careful not to put in too much milk. Your mash needs to be the thickness of porridge so rather add less milk to start with. You can always add more milk if the mash is too dry.
Place the cooked mince mixture in the bottom of an oven safe dish and add the mash on top of that. Spread the mash out so that it covers more or less the mince mixture. Top this off with the grated cheese and bake for 20 min at 180 degrees or until the cheese is properly melted (you can use as much cheese as you like or enough to cover the mash).
This is a great dish to make if you need to feed a group of people or if you like to make enough food to last you at least two days. It’s also a great way to sneak in some vegetables to children (or men) who do not otherwise eat it. Serve warm and enjoy.
