Top Potato Topped Pie

Ingredients for Cottage Pie: 2 sticks celery, 1 leek, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 25g frozen peas, 500g minced beef, 1 bay leaf, 1 x 5ml spoon thyme or sage, 2 x 15ml spoons tomato puree, 400g can tomatoes, ml stock, 1 x 15ml spoon oil.

1. Peel onion. Make a bridge with your hand and cut the onion in half. Put the flat sides down on the board.

2. Hold the onion firmly with your hand like a claw. Slice across without cutting through the root.

3. Turn the onion round and still holding it like a claw, slice in the other direction.

4. Peel the carrot and cut off the top and bottom. Some carrots may only need scraping.

5. Chop the carrot into small cubes.

6. Prepare the leek by cutting off the root and the dark green leaves. Remove one layer of skin. Wash well under cold running water.

7. Cut the leek into rings.

8. Wash the sticks of celery and cut into pieces.

9. The prepared vegetables should now look something like this.

10. Put 1 x 15ml spoon of sunflower oil into a large saucepan. Turn on to a medium heat.

11. Add the prepared vegetables and fry gently without browning for 4 – 5 minutes.

12. The vegetables should now be starting to soften and the onion and leek will appear transparent.

13. Add the minced beef to the pan and stir well for 4 – 5 minutes, until the meat loses its raw appearance.

14. Stir in the frozen peas.

15. Add the thyme and bay leaf.

16. Add 2 x 15ml spoons tomato puree.

17. Add 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes.

18. Dissolve a stock cube in 250ml boiling water. Add about 200ml of this stock to the pan. Keep the rest – you may need to add it later.

19. At this stage the mixture should look something like this. Turn the heat down so that it is simmering gently.

20. Put a lid on the pan and leave to cook for 20 – 30 minutes. Keep giving it a stir from time to time. Whilst the base mixture is cooking, you can prepare the potato topping (see slide 23 ► )

21. Eventually it should look like this. Remember to take out the bay leaf at this stage.

22. Spoon the mixture into your dish.

Potato Topping

To make regular plain mashed potato …

Wash and peel approx 500g potatoes.

Cut into medium chunks of equal sizes.

Cover with cold water, and cover the pan with a lid. Put on a medium/high heat and boil for 15 – 20 minutes.

When cooked, a sharp knife should slip in easily.

Drain well and then mash to remove all lumps.

I have added a pinch of salt, small piece of butter and 1 x 15ml of crème fraiche to my mash, but there are many variation you can try. (see later slides)

Spoon the mash on top of the base, starting around the edge and working to the centre.

Smooth down the top and make a pattern with a fork.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes on gas mark 5 / 190. Garnish.

Alternative Potato Toppings Potato topping potato plus 1 from: Add 1 or 2 from: Sweet potato Carrot Swede Parsnip Total 500g Grated cheese egs cheddar, Parmesan, Red Leicester, Somerset Blue Crème fraiche Salad onion Caramelised onion Garlic Chopped herbs egs parsley, chives Pesto Horseradish sauce Butter Milk Salt and pepper The next slides show a topping made from potato and sweet potato with the added ingredients of Cheddar cheese and Horseradish sauce.

Peel approx. 250g potatoes and 250g sweet potatoes. Cut into medium sized chunks.

Cover with cold water and bring to the boil with a lid on the pan. Boil for minutes. When cooked, a sharp knife should slip in easily.

Drain and mash.

Add your chosen ‘extras’. In this case I have used Cheddar cheese and Horseradish sauce. Beat well until smooth.

Spoon the potato mixture on top of the base, starting around the edge and working to the centre.

Smooth down the top and make a pattern with a fork. If you have time, you can have a go at piping the potato.

Bake for minutes on gas mark 5 / 190°C until golden brown. Garnish before serving.