Cottage Pie

I have a soft spot for Shepherd's Pie because I seem to remember eating it back in my childhood. I have a feeling it may have been a very creative rendition of Shepherd's Pie, but that's beside the point! So when I found the beef version on Coconut & Lime (I love her recipes) I had to make it. Seasoned ground beef slathered in mashed potatoes.... How can you go wrong?? So right on to the notes!

Notes

1. I don't have Smoked Paprika so I just used extra of the regular Paprika.

The Verdict

Mr. C really liked it - he even had leftovers the next day! My wonderful sister said it was really good, and I couldn't stop eating it the night I made it. Every time I wandered into the kitchen I had to have a fork-ful... I was so stuffed by the end of the night. So the opinion seems to be a unanimous "delicious"!

And finally, here's the recipe from Coconut & Lime (don't be scared off by the somewhat long ingredient list! It's mostly stuff you probably already have and they're simple, hearty ingredients):


Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
  
• 1 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
  
• 1 cup frozen peas
  
• 1 onion minced
  
• 8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
  
• 2 carrots, peelied and diced
  
• 1/4 cup green onions, minced
  
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon Paprika (we use Hot Hungarian Paprika)
  
• 1 tablespoon of corn starch
  
• 2 teaspoons thyme
  
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

• 2 lbs potatoes, quartered, boiled, and skinned
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1/4 cup broth (or more if necessary)
  
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
  
• 1/4 cup green onions, minced
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Makes about 6-8 servings.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450.
   
   
2. For the filling: Brown beef in a large saute pan. When beef is browned, drain off the fat and liquid. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, celery, carrot, and green onion. Saute for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Whisk the broth, corn starch, and Worcestershire sauce. Add broth mixture to the meat mixture along with the paprika, smoke paprika, thyme, salt and pepper and cook 20-30 minutes until the mixture is very thick and most of the liquid has evaporated
   
   
3. For the potatoes: Mash potatoes with sour cream, broth, and butter. Add more broth if the mixture is too stiff or dry to spread. Add salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning and then mix in the egg.
   
   
4. Assembly: Grease a wide baking dish (we used a 10" oval dish), pour in the meat mixture and spread the potato mixture on top. Sprinkle some paprika on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown and the meat mixture boils.

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