Cottage Pie

Inspired by frolicking foodie, I have decided to set up a new blog with just recipes. Many of them have been handed down in my family and some have been invented. As you will see, many of them are very simple, but none the worse for that.

Today I made what my family called shepherd's pie, although it ought more accurately to be called cottage pie.

I got 4 x 1lb packs of Limousin mince from the farm shop (it was one of their beasts which they sent to the local abatoire). I had a further small turnip (swede) from my organic vegetable box, so when I went to the farm shop today, I bought another turnip (and also some potatoes, as I could see I would run low.) The total shop included 1 lb mushrooms, 1 cauliflower, some yellow and some purple carrots, some beautiful tomatoes, 2 plums and 1 pack of grapes.

So, yesterday, I browned 1lb of mince with 2 onions, then added some browning and some cornflour mixed to a paste with water and then thinned down a bit with water.

So, this was brought to the boil until it thickened.

Then I added the mushrooms and stirred them well in.

I have wonderful pans which do not lose the liquid, so I left them to simmer at 2 on my induction hob for about an hour.

At this point you can add seasoning to taste (such as Worcestershire Sauce or HP Sauce). I tend to use very little salt in any of my recipes as I like to taste the food..

Once the mince was cooked (after about 40 minutes or so) I spooned it in to a small oblong (or oval would do) casserole dish.

Today, I peeled and chopped 1 large turnip (Swede) and cooked it for 40 minutes.

I then mashed it with some butter and spooned it over the mince, flattening it till it was level.

I also peeled, chopped and cooked some potatoes (to make about 16 pieces when chopped), then mashed them with some butter.

This also got spooned over the mince and spread about with a fork till level. After that I drag the fork over the surface of the potato to roughen it.

Then I grated some cheese over the top and placed the dish in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180 celcius.

It is worth noting that any left over mashed swede or potato can be frozen for future use.

They can also be reheated in a microwave to give 2 vegetables with another meal (if, like me you want to cut down on work)