Cottage Pie
In my head, all of these dishes are interchangeable. Shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, and the Quebec equivalent, pâté chinois. I was mistaken with the latter though, which has a mandatory emphasized layer of corn embedded into it. To me, peas are the more important vegetable in such a dish, and maybe just because “cottage pie” conjures up an image of an English pub in winter, I’m sticking with this moniker from now on.
It’s simple, homey comfort food, but each step of the cooking process can make it just a little bit better. What are you in a rush for? You can get to whatever you’ve got to while the thing is baking in the oven. Maybe it’s not necessary to pipe the potatoes on top, but it does add a certain elegance (and textural contrasts), but it makes a noticeable difference to make sure to brown the meat, bring out the flavor of the aromatics and scrape up the fond with wine before finally making the sauce. That last part hit me instantly when I was making this dish, I hadn’t realized how much I miss cooking with wine until tonight. Again with the nostalgia! The changing of seasons just has this way with me. Red or white wine can be used according to preference really. White brings out the flavor of tomato, while red brings out the flavor of beef to me. The addition of egg to the potatoes helps them brown up nicely in the oven!
Potato Topping
- 2 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and white pepper
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a heavy pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil until the potatoes are very tender, then drain them and return them to the pot to evaporate excess liquid.
- Pass the potatoes through a food mill or mash, then mix in the butter, milk, egg and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and set aside.
Meat Filling
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1 medium onion, minced
- medium carrot, minced
- 1 medium celery, minced
- 4 crimini mushrooms, minced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 cup dry wine (red or white)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup beef or vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs fresh sage, rosemary, oregano and/or thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Brown the beef and veal in batches, then transfer to a colander to drain excess fat.
- In the same pan you cooked the meat in, add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil with the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and aromatic, then add the garlic and cook a minute more.
- Add the wine and deglaze any bites that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Allow the wine to reduce almost completely, then stir in the tomato paste and flour. Cook this for a minute or two, stirring often to prevent scorching.
- Add the stock, fresh herbs, bay leaf and return the meat to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, remove the herbs and stir in the frozen peas.
To Assemble
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the center.
- Use a 9×13″ casserole dish or six 4″ ramekins. Divide the beef mixture into the ramekins, or simply spread evenly over the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes into a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe on top of each ramekin. Alternatively, just spoon the mixture on top as desired.
- If using ramekins, place on a sheet pan to make putting them in and taking them out of the oven easier. Place the pan into the oven and bake until the potatoes are nicely browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.