This humble dish combines two favourite British comfort foods – jacket potato and cottage pie. Ooh, what could be better?
This is a proper crowd pleaser. Thick, savoury, meaty gravy, decanted into a hollowed-out spud, and topped with fluffy, buttery mash. Yum!
Did you know the term ‘cottage pie’ goes back to 1791? Parson Woodforde (who worked between the West Country and Norfolk – where the famous brewery is named for him) wrote about a dish of leftover meat in gravy, topped with mashed potato.
The name likely came about as the dish was popular amongst rural cottage dwellers – a way to use up drying out beef trimmings, covering them with the cheap sustenance of root veg.
Your family will love it. And the best part is, you can make the elements in advance (maybe over the weekend) for an easy weekday dinner.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 2 extra large baking potatoes
- 2 shallots, or 1 small to medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large carrot
- 1 stick celery
- 500g beef mince
- Splash Port or Madeira wine
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 300ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp malt extract (optional)
- Seasoning
- Oil for cooking
For the mash:
- 50g unsalted butter
- Seasoning
- Splash milk
Method
1. Pierce your potatoes all over with a skewer, rub with oil, and bake on a tray in the oven at 200C for 90 minutes. Allow to cool until easy to handle. At this stage, cut the potatoes in half as neatly as you can, carefully scoop the flesh into a bowl (keeping the skins), add the butter, a little milk and seasoning to taste, and mash until smooth. Set aside.
2. While the potatoes cook/cool, make the filling.
3. Finely chop the shallots or onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute in a pan in a little oil until very very soft but not coloured. Add the beef and turn the heat up a bit. Cook until the mince is coloured all over. Add the splash of alcohol and cook out for minute. Now pour in the bay leaves, mixed herbs, tomato puree and cornflour and stir, cooking for a further minute.
4. Finally pour in the stock. Cover, turn the heat to low and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer until thickened. Add the malt extract at the end if you like. It gives a glossy finish, enhances the richness, and the glutamates bring out the beefiness of the meat.
5. When you’re ready to eat, fill each potato about ¾ of the way with the mince mixture and top with the mash, roughly fluffing it up or using a fork to make a thatched pattern.
6. Bake at 210C for 25 minutes until piping hot throughout.
