Cottage Pie (a bite of britain)

Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato. The dish is commonly made with beef or lamb, the latter being known as "shepherd's pie".




You can read more about cottage pie in this article of The Guardian

What do you need  ( 8 serves more o less)

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onion, peeled and finely chopped ( I prefer spring onion)
• 3 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped ( normally English people put more celery, but in my opinion Catalonia people aren't used to using it )
• 1 kg lean minced beef
• a large glass of red wine
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp tomato puree 
• 400 ml beef stock
• 4 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce 

For the topping

• 2 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 glass of milk
• 100 gr cheddar o emmental, grated
• 50 gr butter

Side dish

• steamed vegetables : carrots, peas, brocouli etc..
• coleslaw

What do yo do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180º
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and the onion and cook over a mediun heat for five minutes until soft.
3. Add the carrot and celery and cook for futher 10 m. 
4. Turn up the heat and add the mince and break it up with a fork. Cook for 5 m untill all the mince is brown
5. Add the red wine and thyme and cook over a high heat untill almost all the wine has evaporated
6. Add the bay , tomato puree, worcestershire sauce and stock. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper.
7. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water.
9. Drain and mash with the butter , cheese and milk. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Spoon the mince into a large shallow dish or into an individual dishes. 
11. Top with the potato mash
12. Place under a preheated grill until the topping is golden
13. Serve hot with steamed vegetables ( in my case, baby carrots and peas)