My homemade Cottage pie

Not a food recipe for vegans!

Just so as you are aware I’m no ‘Delia Smith’ around the kitchen, but I can cook when I apply myself and I’m pretty nifty with cakes and biscuits as it happens! When I first moved into my home many years ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t eat on a diet of High Street shop takeaways and I’ve kept that promise, though I will admit to buying the occasional chilled supermarket meal, but they’re never as tasty has homemade food agreed? BTW I didn’t panic buy groceries when our lockdown was first announced, but with self isolation looming I did buy frozen beef mince and chicken for curries bolognaises etc, and plenty of rice potatoes and pasta etc.

(So did everyone else along with toilet roll, why?)

Anyways enough chat, yesterday I defrosted 400g of lean beef mince and decided to make a cottage pie (or lol the opposite way round), a positive task to keep me amused, then I thought why not add the photographs onto my WordPress, another positive task….. and yes most people reading will make an improved version but ‘hey ho’ humour me 😀 .

Unfortunately due to lockdown isolation I had very little fresh vegetables in the fridge, but not to worry, lol the broccoli complimented my ‘homemade’ cottage pie 😀

• 3 large potatoes (perhaps could have done with 1 more)
• 400g lean minced beef
• 1 onion
• grated cheese
• plain flour
• 1 OXO stock cube
• 3 aluminium food trays
• 20 minutes oven cooking at 150 degrees C

I’ll keep the recipe method (very) brief, basically follow my photographs and you’re there ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’!

• Peel four large potatoes and dice into four segments? Boil for 15-20 minutes, drain add a little butter and mash, add a touch of milk if potatoes stiffen.
•  Crumble a stock cube into flower, mix into a paste using cold water. Boil kettle of hot water.
• Brown mince over a moderate heat and drain fat, mine was 10% fat.)
• Peel chop and gently fry one onion add to the mince along with the now thickened gravy, simmer for 5 minutes.
• Pour beef mixture into three tray, cover with mash potato gently levelling the surface with a table fork.
• Sprinkle grated cheese onto one cottage pie, cover with kitchen baking foil and heat in a 150 degrees C oven for 20 minutes.
• Serve with fresh vegetables if you can find any during this wretched lockdown.

…………… and yes I could have added seasoning, truth be known I forgot to add the ground pepper.

……….. and yes well spotted! Those are aluminium food trays saved after haven’t eaten ‘Waitrose’ chilled Fish pies, well at least I’m honest. Anyways, I froze the remaining two cottage pies to eat at a later date after sprinkling freshly grated cheese on top 🙂 , oh and covering with aluminium foil (keeps the moisture in).

Incidentally there are further (various) recipes on this WordPress.

(Btw incase you are wondering, ‘Waitrose’ is known for selling quality groceries here in the UK, consequently they’re a touch more expensive than say ‘Tesco’. If you wish to know who ‘Delia Smith’ is? (Google) She’s Britain’s best known TV chef and cook book writer.)

 

A. Shepherdson 2020