Welcome to week 2 of casserole cooking class. As promised from last week the recipe of the day was Cottage Pie. As discussed in class, most people will also know this as Shepherd's Pie. The key difference being Cottage Pie is made with ground beef and Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb. Call it what you will, we made Cottage Pie. When I say we I am referring to each Cottage Pie you made in teams to take home and enjoy at a later date. Everyone's takeaway dishes looked great (and complete with egg yolks, lol).
As per discussed with the group we will proceed with vegetarian friendly casserole's and quick, easy and simple casserole's for the remaining 2 sessions. Here is a copy of the recipe from week 2:
Cottage Pie:
Ingredients:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes, cube and boil for 15 to 20 mins (until soft). Meanwhile brown meat, then add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add Guinness, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and mixture thickens. By now the potatoes should be soft enough to mash. For the mash, drain potatoes. Add butter and mash. Gradually add cream and egg yolks and mix. Add 2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Spread beef mixture evenly across 9x12 dish.
As per discussed with the group we will proceed with vegetarian friendly casserole's and quick, easy and simple casserole's for the remaining 2 sessions. Here is a copy of the recipe from week 2:
Cottage Pie:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs Canadian ground beef (#bylocal #buyCanadian as per class discussion)
- splash of olive oil (to lightly coat fry pan)
- 1 large onion (grated)
- 1 large carrot (grated)
- 1 cup peas
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup Guinness
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme (as prepared in class)
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary (as prepared in class)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 5 large potatoes (cubed)
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (divided 2/3, 1/3)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes, cube and boil for 15 to 20 mins (until soft). Meanwhile brown meat, then add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add Guinness, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and mixture thickens. By now the potatoes should be soft enough to mash. For the mash, drain potatoes. Add butter and mash. Gradually add cream and egg yolks and mix. Add 2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Spread beef mixture evenly across 9x12 dish.
Spread potato mash evenly over top. Then sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese over top of potatoes. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.
If freezing takeaway containers made in class, reheat at 375 degrees for approximately 40-50 minutes. If reheating from thawed, bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. A few time saving short cuts discussed in class were substituting vegetables with frozen carrot/pea mix or carrot/corn/pea mix, using a pre-packaged Shepherd's Pie seasoning/mixture pouch (making as directed and substituting water for Guinness) and using dried spices rather than fresh. I hoped you all enjoyed the in-class Cottage Pie we sampled together and the take home Cottage Pies you each individually enjoyed.