Cottage Pie

I wasn't planning on posting this dish because the picture wasn't particularly good but when Susi over at Craftroom saw it on Flickr she asked me to post it A.S.A.P. I think she's always looking for taste-of-home dishes for her English husband.

When I was planning our weekly menu I thought I had ground lamb in the freezer & planned a shepherds pie. Then I realized the lamb was actually chozio which Matt was saving for chorizo & potato tacos. Luckily I have plenty of grass fed ground beef in the freezer so I just changed from shepherds to cottage. Mainly I was making this to use up some more of the parsnips in the fridge & we both really liked the flavor they added to the potato topping.

This recipe makes 2 individual cottage pies but you could easily double it & cook it in an 8" x 8" baking dish to serve 4.

Simple Cottage Pie

8 baby yukon potatoes, peeled & halved
2 medium parsnips, peeled & cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 T vegetable oil
1/2 lb ground beef
2 scallions or spring onions, sliced
4 crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
3/4 c chicken or beef broth
1/2 t dried rosemary
salt & pepper
1/4 - 1/2 c peas, fresh or frozen
10 pearl onions, fresh or frozen, sliced in half
1/2 T unsalted butter
1 T milk + more if needed

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the potatoes & parsnips into a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil & cook until tender. When done, drain & return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef & cook until browned through. Add the scallions & mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms had released their liquid & most of it has cooked away. Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle with the flour & stir while cooking for 1 minute. Add the broth & stir until thickened & bubbly. Stir in the rosemary. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Add the peas & onions & cook until just heated through.

Add the butter & milk to the cooked potatoes & parsnips. Mash until creamy, adding more milk if needed. Season with salt & pepper.

Divide the beef filling between two two-cup ramekins. Top with the mashed potatoes & parsnips spreading to cover all the beef filling. Bake for about 30 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

2 servings

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