Today I have another simple side dish to make for any occasion. It is nice and cheesy with crispy edges. This pie was very tasty and is best enjoyed hot. Also, if you are a gravy fan, it would be nice to drizzle some over the top.
Recipe: Cheesy Potato Pie (serves 4)
Ingredients
6 potatoes
100g red Leicester cheese – grated
Splash of milk
1 tsp butter
1 tsp oil
50g kale
1 tsp diced onion
Method
Peel and dice the potatoes, wash and place in a pan of water to boil until just cooked.
Whilst the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a small pan and add the onion and kale cooking for 5 minutes, then leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
Once the potatoes are cooked, pour off the water and mash with milk and butter until smooth.
Add the kale and cheese to the mash and mix well, spoon the mixture into an oven dish, grating more cheese on top.
Cook the pie in the oven for 45 minutes until the cheese has melted and gone crispy.
Today’s recipe is such a classic, especially here in the UK and surprisingly I’ve not made it before. It’s pretty simple and mostly consists of mash and meat, however over the years there have been many adaptations in the ingredients giving it much more flavour. I looked around online for inspiration and basically combined a bunch of recipes together and the end result was delicious. I ate it on it’s own but you could always add vegetables on the side like broccoli, carrot or cauliflower.
Classic Cottage Pie recipe (serves 6 hearty portions)
Ingredients
1kg minced beef
3 garlic cloves – crushed
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, chilli, mixed herbs, paprika and turmeric
5 large potatoes – peel, chop, wash
50g butter
Splash of milk
1 tbsp oil
1/2 onion – finely diced
Splash of red wine
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato puree
600g chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube
1 tsp sugar
50g peas
100g sweetcorn
1 1/2 carrot – grated
Dried parsley
Methods
Firstly, marinate the minced beef with the seasonings and garlic a few hours before starting the cottage pie.
Peel, chop and wash the potatoes, then put them to boil until cooked. Once cooked, drain off the water and cover with the pot lid.
Put the oil in a frying pan and add the onion with a little salt, cover with the lid for a few minutes until soft and add the minced beef. Turn up the heat slightly and cook for 7 minutes until the beef is brown and the liquid has reduced.
Add the splash of wine and again letting the liquid reduce before mixing in the flour, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, stock cube and sugar.
Let the mixture simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
In the meantime, add a splash of milk and butter to the potatoes mashing it all together until smooth.
Turn the heat off from the beef and stir in the peas, sweetcorn and carrot. Pour this into an oven tray, cover with the mashed potato and use a fork to design the top.
Sprinkle a little dried parsley on top and bake in the oven for 50 minutes until golden at the edges.
