Cottage pie

Here’s a classic Cottage Pie recipe—hearty, comforting, and topped with creamy mashed potatoes 🥩🥔

🥘 Cottage Pie

🧺 Ingredients (serves 4–6)

For the Meat Filling:

• 1 lb (450 g) ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme or rosemary
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1–2 tbsp flour (optional, for thickening)

For the Mashed Potato Topping:

• 2 lbs (900 g) potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 tbsp butter
• ½ cup milk (or cream)
• Salt & pepper to taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Preheat Oven
   Preheat to 400°F (200°C).
2. Cook Meat Filling
   • In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat. Drain excess fat.
   • Add onion, carrots, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes until softened.
   • Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper.
   • Sprinkle flour (if using) and stir well.
   • Add beef broth and peas; simmer 5–10 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Prepare Mashed Potatoes
   • Boil potatoes until tender, 15–20 minutes.
   • Drain and mash with butter, milk, salt, and pepper until creamy.
4. Assemble Pie
   • Spread meat filling evenly in a baking dish.
   • Top with mashed potatoes, spreading evenly and ruffling the surface with a fork for texture.
5. Bake
   Bake 20–25 minutes until the top is golden and edges are bubbling.
6. Serve
   Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

🌟 Tips

• For extra flavor, stir a little grated cheese into the mashed potatoes before baking.
• You can use leftover roasted vegetables in the meat filling for variety.
• This dish keeps well and reheats beautifully for next-day lunches.

If you want, I can give a quick 30-minute version or a mini individual cottage pies version.