On cold winter days I love having an incredibly comforting dish to eat. This Cottage Pie with Sliced Potatoes has been a family favorite for such a long time. It has crispy but soft sliced potatoes and a warm and hearty meat and vegetable filling. It’s made with dark stout and Worcestershire sauce for an over the top caramelised note and some umami flavour. The parsley added on top adds a subtle freshness and brightens the whole dish. I also love the fact that you can have servings for 6 or 8 people ready in just one hour and a half.
How to make Cottage Pie with Sliced Potatoes
It’s so easy to prepare this recipe that I make it constantly in the winter months when I’m busy.
- Cook diced vegetables in butter for 5-7 minutes.
- Add ground meat and cook until slightly brown.
- Stir in tomato paste and flour. Deglaze with dark beer.
- Add dried thyme and ground garlic, Worcestershire sauce and water. Cook until thick and reduced, about 30 minutes.
- Stir in frozen peas and assemble the pie.
- Top with sliced potatoes, season with salt and black pepper and drizzle with melted butter.
- Cook until the potatoes are fork tender and slightly crispy.
- Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve after 10 minutes.
Ingredients and variations
- Meat: Beef makes a Cottage Pie and lamb makes a Shepherd’s Pie. I also tried this recipe with ground turkey and ground pork – it turned out amazing.
- Dark Beer: You’ll not taste the beer in the recipe, but if you want you can swap it for some red or white wine.
- Potatoes: Instead of slicing them, you can make some cheesy mashed potatoes – dice and boil 2 lb potatoes until fork tender; add 1 stick of butter, milk, 2 egg yolks, 50 g cheddar cheese and salt. Spread onto the cooked meat mixture. They will form a golden-brown crust. I just prefer the sliced version in terms of texture.
This cottage pie can be made 4 days ahead, you just have to store it in the refrigerator. You can easily reheat it in the microwave or in the oven. Other delicious and quick main course recipes are these Apple Cider Chicken Thighs and this Braised Chicken with Figs and Cauliflower.
Cottage Pie with Sliced Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1 large onion diced
- 3-4 large carrots diced
- 2 celery sticks diced
- 2 lb ground beef or lamb
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tbsp flour all-purpose
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground garlic
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2-3 large potatoes sliced thinly
- 10 oz frozen peas
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- fresh parsley roughly chopped, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp unsalted butter over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, carrots and celery and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add minced meat and cook, breaking the meat with a wooden spoon, about 5-10 minutes or until the meat is slightly brown. When the meat starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to medium. Stir in the tomato paste and flour, cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with dark beer and bring to a simmer. Add dried thyme and ground garlic. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and enough water to cover the meat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until reduced and thick – about 30 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes and slice thinly into circles.
- When the meat is reduced and thick, check for seasoning, stir in the frozen peas and transfer to the 12 by 9 inch baking dish. Top with potatoes, overlapping the slices. Season with salt and black pepper, drizzle with 2 tbsp melted butter.
- Bake until the potatoes are brown on the edges and can be easily pierced with a fork, about 40-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley.
I have read so many articles or reviews regarding the blogger lovers however this paragraph is actually a fastidious article, keep it up.