Cottage Pie Hot Pot

Why not mix Cottage Pie and Lancashire Hot Pot?

Sweet potato slices on top of a cottage pie (made with ale) and all in deference to the Lancashire Hot Pot.  After layering the slices of lightly cooked sweet potato over a cottage pie, bake then add a sprinkle of cheese and gril/broil.

A cottage pie (for me) starts with browned onion and finely sliced celery.  Then beef mince, browned in the same pan and carrot batons.  Add dark ale, beef stock and worcestershire sauce, simmer then top with sliced sweet potato and finally cheese.  Bake, that's all.  No rocket science.

Talking of rocket, a rocket salad could have worked as a side, I chose peas.

(A Lancashire hot pot is typically a diced meat stew topped with sliced potato and oven baked.  Cottage pie is beef mince in onion gravy, topped with mashed potato and oven baked).

Ingredients (4):

Beef

1 large onion, diced (or 2 medium)

2 stalks of celery, finely sliced

400g, 12 % fat beef mince

1.5 TBSP plain flour

1 TBSP tomato puree

300g carrot batons

1/2 tsp dried or fresh thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

Stock

250ml ale

250ml beef stock

4 or 5 shakes of worcestershire sauce

Topping

400g sweet potato, scrubbed and sliced (microwave for 1.5 plus 1 minute in a little water)

50g cheddar cheese, grated

Method:

Make beef; brown onion and celery then add beef mince brown again.

Add flour and tomato puree, cook one minute

Add carrot batons, salt, pepper and thyme then stir

Add the stock ingredients, cook 20 minutes over a low heat.

Top with the microwaved, sliced sweet potato.

Oven bake for 20 minutes. Add the cheese and grill for a further 5 minutes.

Pictured here after swiping a generous first serving.

For a (slightly) more classic cottage pie:

Welsh Rarebit Cottage Pie