Cottage Pie

Serves 8-10

Cottage pie is a hearty traditional English dinner to enjoy with the whole family. I can’t think of anything better on a cold winters day.  A layer of rich delicious beef topped with fluffy creamy potato, swede and carrot mash and finally finished off with generous helpings of melted, bubbling red Leicester cheese.

This delicious cottage pie recipe is huge and cheap so get the whole family together, nan, grandpa, mum, dad, uncle Bob. A family meal is a great way to spend quality time together and this meal will impress, it looks impressive, taste fantastic and is wonderfully satisfying. And if you can’t find ten people, great, more delicious left over’s for your lunch.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 red onions peeled and chopped
• 1.35kg minced beef
• 2 level tsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp of dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 50g plain flour
• 2x400g canned chopped tomatoes
• 500ml beef stock
• 635g potatoes peeled and chopped
• 400g Swede
• 500g carrots, peeled and chopped
• 100ml warm milk
• 50g butter
• 50g red Leicester

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook onions until golden brown. Add the meat and cook for a further 5- 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree, herbs, Worcestershire sauce and flour. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and add the tomatoes and stock. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes.
2. Boil the potatoes and Swede until soft should take about 25 minutes depending on how small you chopped them. Add the carrots after 10 minutes once everything is cooked. Drain well and then return to the pan and mash with a potato masher. Add milk and butter and continue mashing until smooth.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 or gas mark 4. Put the meat mixture into an oven proof dish. Top with mash, sprinkle red Leicester on top and bake for 35-40 minutes.