Cottage pie for dummies

I live for food and travel and whenever it's my turn to prepare dinner I always make sure that I cook something i like or I've been craving and sometimes I do take special requests from my niece :)
I only learnt how to cook a few years ago, reasons for not doing so earlier is because I learnt at a boarding school and food was well provided. I love cooking and I love challenging myself and sometimes my results are not so pretty but I always try to make it work and practice makes perfect, I'm almost hanging on the perfect side  #Yassssss





Cottage pie for DUMMIES it tastes good looks good and simple to make. had it with a coleslaw salad with green apple it added some sweetness to the meal, add garlic bread or any bread.
I usually boil my mince first to kill the beefy smell before browning it.
Let's create

MASH
potatoes 7
milk 1/4 cup
Cheese 1/2 cup
bread crumbs 1/3 cup

• boil potatoes is salted water until soft
•  drain and place in a bowl, 
• add butter and milk then  mash,
•  add breadcrumbs and cheese mix 

MINCE
1 chopped onion
1 chopped shallot
mushroom
1/2 red &green pepper
diced tomatoes
frozen veges (optional)
salt & pepper
1 cup beef stock
1tsp nutmeg, turmeric, basil, parsley paprika

• boil or brown mince move in to the side, add olive oil. onion spread evenly on the pan until cooked,
•  add mushroom, shallots, red and green pepper, frozen veges stir,
•  add tomatoes and all the spices mix,
•  add beef stock cover and simmer for 10 min.

Preheat oven conventional 220 degrees C

Grease casserole dish, sprinkle bread crumbs and rosemary leaves on the sides as well.














Add the mash around the edges using a fork.
add the mince mixture in the middle and sprinkle breadcrumbs over the mince.













Add the mash over the mince and spread gently and evenly, ensure there are no gaps.
Use a fork for the edges to seal the mince under.

I added a bit of cheese and breadcrumbs to achieve a pretty gold color.

20-25 min or  until golden



*Make sure you taste as you go to balance the flavors.










VIOLA :)

Good thing with cooking is that you can create absolutely anything. Experiment with flavors and spices, if you make a mistake, next time you will know what you did wrong....



Serves: 4-6 people
Skill: Easy
Time: 40 min.