Scrumptious Cottage Pie

You know you’ve made a damn good cottage pie when an Englishman swoons over it. My boyfriend A was ecstatic during tonight’s dinner, and making orgiastic noises while gobbling up two huge scoops. At the end he solemnly took my hand in his and kissed it. “Thank you,” he said, emotionally. “Good. Now do the dishes,” I commanded. He nodded meekly and scuttled off to the kitchen with our licked-clean plates.

You would think that he loves it because it’s a taste of home, but actually this is a ‘fusion pie’. Instead of cooking it the traditional way (read: boring), I used all kinds of sauces normally found in Asian cooking, and even coriander. Why settle for salt for seasoning when you can use soya sauce, which has a much more complex taste?

That said, eating the pie tonight brought back really fond memories of my time in Bristol. I loved making cottage pie when I was an undergrad in England back in the early ’00s. It was easy, simple, and really comforting to eat in the winter while stretched out on my couch, watching a Channel 4 documentary or Jonathan Ross on Beeb 2. Those were the days…

(recipe after the jump):

What absolutely nails a good cottage pie recipe is worcestershire sauce. It just has that great fruity taste to it that gives it that extra kick. If you’re feeling adventurous, try putting in some Bulldog tonkatsu sauce instead, as it’s got a similar flavour.

The cheese is important too – none of that weird orange stuff which Americans pass off as cheddar. You should get nice pale yellow mature cheddar.

The following would make just enough to fill a Reynold’s 7-5/8 x 7-5/8 inches square deep-dish aluminium pan, so do some estimations if you’re using a bigger pan.

Scrumptious Cottage Pie
(makes enough for 4 large servings)
1 cup grated vintage cheddar
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
Milk
Butter
400 grams lean beef mince
2 carrots, roughly 1 cm thick slices
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 cup of coriander, lightly packed
Light soya sauce
Dark soya sauce
Mirin
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Cornflour & water, mixed (1:1 ratio)

1. Boil up a pot of water and put in the potatoes.
2. While they’re cooking, start peeling and chopping the vegetables. Fry the carrots and onions in a wok with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. When the onions turn soft and almost transparent, add the beef mince, coriander and tomatoes.
4. Add the sauces, bit by bit, according to your taste. The ratio should be as follows:
- 3 parts light soya
- 2 parts dark soya
- 2 parts worcestershire
- 1 part mirin
5. Wok-fry everything till the beef is brown, then turn down the heat. Simmer with the lid on for about 5 minutes, taking care to stir every so often.
6. If the water has evaporated, add about 1/2 cup water and stir it a bit. Then add cornflour and water bit by bit, till the sauce turns into a nice gloopy consistency.
7. Switch off the wok’s fire, and start preheating the oven (if you’re using one).
8. When the potatoes are soft and cooked, drain the water out. Mash them up with a fork, and add as much butter as you’d like (depending on how buttery you like your mash!). Add milk, teaspoon by teaspoon, till you get your desired level of creaminess.
9. Ladle the beef mixture into the pan, and use the ladle to level it out. Add the mash on top, and use a fork to create ridges across the levelled surface.
10. Scatter the grated cheese all over the top.
11. Stick it under the grill or on the oven’s top shelf. Grill for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese starts bubbling and browning.
12. Serve with cooked veg, black pepper and a big blob of HP sauce!