First of all, what is a cottage pie? It’s an old-fashioned rustic dish from rural England—in other words, a meat pie with a crusty topping. When most people think of a cottage pie, they think of the classic Shepherd’s Pie, which is traditionally made with ground beef and a mashed potato topping. But this Cottage Pie Recipe is a culinary mashup of three traditional dishes, and a huge step up from your average Taco Tuesday.
INGREDIENTS:
*Meat Layer;
- 12 oz ground beef
- 2 tbsp Canola oil
- 1/4 Cup Garlic, chopped
- 1 Chili (scotch bonnet or any spicy pepper)
- 2 tbsp Pimento (allspice), ground
- 2 Sprigs Thyme
- 1 oz Rum (optional)
- 3 tbsp Oyster sauce (optional)
- 3 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 1/2 Cup breadcrumbs
- 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable stock
- 1 Onion, finely diced
*Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F on convection. Heat a medium-size frying pan over medium-high heat. Chop one onion. Sweat the chopped onions, then add ground beef and brown for 5 mins. Add garlic and cook until fragrant for about 2 mins. Add thyme and pimento. Deglaze with rum if desired, add oyster sauce and soy sauce, and stir together. Next, add bread crumbs and stock. Allow this to come up to a simmer and reduce the heat for 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Scoop out the beef into an even layer at the base of the casserole dish. Reserve.
*Vegetable Layer;
- 1/4 Cup JCS Real Jamaican Style Curry Powder (Buy Now)
- 1/2 Can Grace Classic Coconut Milk (Buy Now)
- 2 tbsp Canola oil
- 2 Cups Vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp Garlic
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Turmeric
- 1 1/2 lbs Mixed root vegetables,(carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, celeriac, etc) large 1.5” Diced
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1 Onion, finely diced
*Directions:
Heat a shallow pot over medium heat. Add canola oil. Chop an additional half an onion. Sweat onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add butter, curry powder and turmeric and cook until fragrant. Add coconut milk, salt and stock. Bring to a simmer. Add root vegetables, simmer for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are tender. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out root vegetables over the Impossible Burger reserved from Step 1. Pour half of the curry sauce over the Impossible Burger if you like your cottage pie traditional, or pour all the curry sauce in for a moist and saucy pie.
*Assembly/Top Layer;
- 3 tbsp Salt
- 3 lbs Yellow flesh potatoes, peeled, sliced 1/4 inch thick, and punched into a round shape, then soaked in cold water
- 1/4 Cup Melted unsalted butter
*Directions:
Arrange the sliced potatoes in overlapping layers on top of the curried root vegetables. Cover the entire surface of the cottage pie. Then brush the potato slices with melted butter. Sprinkle salt over it evenly.
Cover with parchment paper, tightly seal with 2 layers of aluminum foil. Bake for 45 mins, then remove foil and parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes more, until slightly browned.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped chives.