Cherry & Dennis Recipes
British Cottage Pie
英式牛肉薯蓉批
Recipe overview
British Cottage Pie is a practical Western family dish for a Hong Kong home kitchen, using supermarket ingredients and twelve reliable steps for four servings.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 500 g minced beef
- 800 g potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
- 1 piece carrot (finely diced)
- 1 piece onion (diced)
- 1 cup green peas (thawed)
Seasoning and sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 250 ml beef stock (low-sodium)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp thyme (dried)
- 40 g butter (cubed)
- 120 ml milk
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper (ground)
02
Tools
- knife
- cutting board
- vegetable peeler
- pot
- frying pan
- wooden spoon
- potato masher
- measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- baking dish
- oven
- oven mitts
03
Steps
Step 1
Cut the potatoes
Peel the potatoes, cut into 4 cm chunks, rinse, and place in a pot.
Step 2
Boil the potatoes
Cover the potatoes with water, bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for 18 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
Step 3
Mash the potatoes
Drain the potatoes. Add butter, milk, and half the salt; mash until smooth and keep covered.
Step 4
Prepare the vegetables
Dice the onion and carrot finely; fully thaw and drain the peas.
Step 5
Brown the beef
Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the minced beef over medium-high heat for 6 minutes, breaking it up until no pink remains.
Step 6
Soften the vegetables
Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
Step 7
Season the beef filling
Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, black pepper, and the remaining salt; cook for 1 minute.
Step 8
Simmer the filling
Pour in the beef stock and peas. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until thick but still moist.
Step 9
Fill the baking dish
Spread the beef filling evenly in a roughly 23 cm baking dish and level the surface.
Step 10
Add the mashed potato
Spoon the mash from the edges inward to cover the filling completely, then mark shallow ridges with a fork.
Step 11
Bake until golden
Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for 25 minutes until bubbling at the edges and golden on top.
Step 12
Rest and serve
Rest for 10 minutes before portioning so the filling settles, then serve.
Common mistakes
- A watery beef filling makes the mash sink.
- Mashing poorly drained potatoes makes the topping wet.
Tips
Assemble a day ahead and add about 10 minutes when baking from chilled.
Resting before serving keeps the layers neat.
