Cottage Pie

 

Homesickness can be tough, recreating foody home comforts is my cure. A sure fire way to brighten up my day is through pie, a generous serving of cottage pie to take me back to Britain. All the ingredients are easy to get hold of (without a treacherous trip to Kaldi!).

 

Serves 1-2 (depending on how severely you miss home)

 

Prep Time 10 mins

Cooking Time 25 mins

 

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes, chopped into quarters

Nob of butter

Splash of milk

Optional: 50g grated cheese

100g minced beef

1 carrot, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed and sliced

100ml beef stock

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp dried/ fresh rosemary

Olive oil, for frying

 

1. Boil potatoes in a saucepan for 15mins in salted water (or until soft and ready to mash)

2. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan.

3. Turn to a medium flame. Fry onions, garlic, carrots for 5 minutes.

4. Cook minced beef in same frying pan until brown.

5. Pour in beef stock along with mustard and rosemary; season with salt and pepper.

6. Simmer for 10 mins.

7. Drain potatoes, put back into saucepan. Mash with milk, butter and cheese.

8. In a deep dish, layer meat mixture then top with mash and cheese.

9. Grill for 5 minutes until mash starts to crisp

10. Enjoy with a glass of red and a dose of catch-up TV.

Home sweet home.

 

Cherie Pham