Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie Filling

1. Heat the olive oil on medium heat, and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
2. Add the celery, carrot and zucchini. Cook, frequently stirring, for 5 minutes, until softened.
3. Increase the heat to high, add the beef mince and cook for 5 minutes or until browned.
4. Stir in the plain flour, followed by the tomato paste.
5. Add the beef stock, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low so that the sauce is slowly simmering. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. The sauce will thicken into a lovely gravy (see note 2).
6. Set the filling aside to cool.

Mashed Potato Topping

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (you will need a pot large enough so that the potatoes are covered by at least 5cm of water).
2. Add the peeled, quartered potatoes to the water and cook for 15-20 minutes until soft enough to pierce with a fork.
3. Remove the pot from the heat. Drain the potatoes using a colander and place the potatoes back in the pot. Allow them to steam dry for 1-2 minutes. This removes any excess water.
4.  Add the butter and mash the potatoes twice around the pot before adding the milk. Continue to mash until smooth and fluffy, and season with the salt.

Assemble Pie

1. Preheat the oven to a 180°C fan.
2. Once the beef mixture has cooled slightly, transfer it into a large baking dish (approximately 30cm x 25cm). You can skip this step if you have made your pie in an oven-safe pan.
3. Spoon the mashed potato on top of the beef mixture and use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly. Do this while the mashed potato is hot, as it’s much easier to spread. Use a fork to rough up the surface gently.
4. Sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden and crispy.