Cottage pie: a comfort and delightful serving.
Many of the times, we feel tired due to the fast-paced world and stressful work. The body and mind need recovery for the soul; and it won’t be less true: only food plays that major role that can just lighten the stress and brighten up the mood. Moreover, a relaxing weekend with close ones completes it all.
Imagine it’s Saturday morning and you had a plan of meeting your friends—not in the countryside, nor in any busy cafe. You need fun, but that doesn’t always mean a party and screaming all night. A cozy day with delightful servings can fix it all; in fact, better.
Now, the cozy vibe always craves for something delicious. That “delicious” refers to something soft that melts in the mouth, something that leaves its taste on the tongue for some time, which makes the room aromatic and too savory to resist yourself to eat quite more than usual.
In this busy life, the thought often comes to mind: “Can I pause for a while?” In this hustle-bustle, I could find the answer in my hands only, not like I could only fix this mess but this could turn out to be a great opportunity for me to take a break.
The kitchen could become a comfort zone; the aroma which reaches to the hallway soothes your headache. The chopping feels rhythmic, and waiting to let the dish become crispy on top and soften by inside excites a bit more.
Why could this recipe be counted as one of the best comforting foods?
Whenever the thought of comfort food comes to the mind, we often imagine heavy, processed dishes that leave us feeling sluggish like a bean bag. This recipe is a sum of, abundance of aromatic vegetables, the caramelized onions, a soft and creamy texture which could relax your soul.
This recipe is inclusive of caramelized onions which provides a natural sweetness that balances the flavour. On the top it is covered with a thick and fluffy layer of mashed potatoes that’s enriched with a touch of cheese and beneath that it is filled with savoury veggies mix, this pie gives a wholesome flavour. One could count it as a comfort food choice to your weekly rotation or weekend chill with friends.
Recipe of savoury Cottage Pie
* Prep time: 60 minutes
* Cook time: 30 minutes
* Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
* Yields: 8 Servings
Ingredients
For the Caramelized Onions:
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced with the grain
* A pinch of sea salt
For the Mashed Potato Cheesy Topping:
* 2 lbs (approx. 1kg) russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
* ½ cup milk, buttermilk, or reserved potato water
* 1 ½ cups cheese, freshly grated
* 2–3 teaspoons salt (for boiling water)
For the Savory Filling:
* 1 ½ lbs ground beef (can be skipped if you prefer veggies only)
* 1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
* 1 teaspoon sea salt & ¾ teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup carrots, finely diced
* 1 cup celery, finely diced
* 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons flour (use a GF blend to keep it gluten-free)
* 2 cups beef or vegetable broth
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (ensure vegan if needed)
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
1. Cleaning
As this recipe requires a lot of veggies it is highly recommended to wash all of them thoroughly. It’s not because it would tend to change in texture or something but hygiene is basic in all.
2. Starting with the onions
Let’s not make the procedure too complex. Starting with the easiest procedure is the caramelizing of onions. Take 2 onions not too big or too small but medium is perfect. Cut the onions in fine thin slices. Now take a pan, on medium heat stir those sliced onions for about 5 minutes. Now add olive oil and salt on low heat, stir it occasionally for 30-40 mins and let it turn into a fine brownish texture. This seems slow but good things take time.
2. Preparation for the topping
Wash the potatoes . Peel and cut them. Into dice and then pour it in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and let it cook until it turns soft, for 15–20 minutes. Then strain the potatoes but keep a cup of that potato water. Mash the potatoes with butter and your choice of liquid. The liquid could be cream or butter milk or some potato water, any of them until smooth, then fold in the cheese.
3. Build the savoury base;
Heat the pan on medium high flame add about a tablespoon of oil and let it get hot, once done add meat to it add leave it for a moment once it starts getting rich in colour stir it, occasionally once it gets a fine brownish texture, now season it with some rosemary, salt and pepper.
4. Saute the veggies
Once the meat is done place it aside, now again add some oil saute 6-7cloves chopped garlic once it turns to be quite cooked and the room is filled with the aroma of it add some diced carrots, and celery to it and give it a good mix let the veggies absorb the taste of garlic. Let it cook until it turns soft.
4. To the gravy mix
In the sauteed veggies add some flour and stir finely. Then add broth or potato water tomato puree. As per the listed ingredients add Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and bay leaves this is addition to taste. Stir the gravy well.
5. Assemble it all
Let the separated stuff like meat and gravy be put together. In the pan of gravy add the brown meat which was set aside earlier along with it and add caramelized onions. Add some broth if the stuff feels too thick. Let it absorb the essence of the garlic and sweetness of caramelized onions.
6. The Final Bake
Take a large oven bowl. Pour the base. Layer the topping with mashed potatoes evenly. Draw lines on the top layer via fork or some other texture as per choice. Give yourself some rest after leaving it for 30 mins to bake, which will form a crust on top layer and creamy texture from inside.
7. Serving
The delicious and savoury of cottage pie is all set to enjoy. Garnish it with some chopped cilantro or rosemary as the final touch.
Storage and Global Variations
One of the reasons this is such a popular comfort food around the world, is its versatility.
* The tweak: one can use other veggies and sauces as per availability. In a nutshell, it’s a free will to your taste.
* Storage: you can store it for quite long. Take it out of your fridge, let it be stable to room temperature and then just heat it up in the oven and serve it. It can go upto 3 months.
* Best for gathering: gathering of your close ones, this dish will play a major role in mood enlightenment.
Nutritional Breakdown
* Calories: 378 kcal
* Protein: 30.2g
* Fat: 13.6g
* Carbohydrates: 34.6g
* Fiber: 4.2g
* Sodium: 363.5mg
Take a moment.
Homemade dishes are always full of freshness, taste, texture, flavour and most importantly love. The way we prepare the dishes at home is a comfort to the soul. The weather is a warm cup of soup or scoop of pie. The taste is heavenly. Meal isn’t just about filling up your stomachs and doing work like anything to earn the whole life but it’s about nourishment, comfort and happiness.
Cottage pie is one excuse for my get-togethers. This dish is one of those topics when we are meeting, as if we all are homesick and need something calm yet delightful. It becomes more fun when friends who became family come early to arrange the necessities, chop and slicing makes it all done in no time.
Give yourself a moment, give your time to the close ones waiting for you to meet eagerly. This lets you forget your weekly stress and light up the world around you like a heavenly flavourful bite.
