Cottage Pie (à la Sowden)

As a chum has requested this, and so I need to type it anyhow, I thought I would share my family recipe for cottage pie with the wider world... You can make shepherds pie instead by substituting lamb for beef mince!

This is based on my mother's dish (which was based on my grandmother's) with my notes of where I do things a bit differently... Generally I think my version is best!

Ingredients:

1lb beef mince
6 oz button mushrooms
1 tin baked beans (Heinz is best)
about 6 medium potatoes
1 Oxo cube
1 teaspoon Bovril/ Marmite or similar
Worcester sauce - just a sprinkle don't go too mad with it!
Pinch of mixed herbs or thyme if you feel like it

Note: I generally don't have evil, evil Marmite in, so go heavier handed with the Worcestershire sauce. I also add some salt and plenty of ground pepper, thyme, some oregano and some basil (not too much of either one). I sometimes also make use of a sprinkle of chilli powder or grated chilli for just a bit of pep.

Method:

Put mince in a largish saucepan

Note: I use a wok, as its just nicer to cook in, and start with a finely diced onion and a very small splash of oil, then put the mince in there once the onion is sizzling away nicely. Medium heat is fine.

Add Oxo cube crumbled up, Marmite & Worcester sauce & mix together over a medium heat, not too fierce or you'll burn the mince. Cook until brown,stirring occasionally.

Note: I also add the salt and pepper at this point, leaving the other herbs till later.

Then add the mushrooms sliced & washed. Mix together & continue cooking until it looks about ready. Add the baked beans & mix together. Cook for about 5 mins.

Note: the mushrooms can be sliced as finely as you like, though I like fairly chunky mushrooms - I tend to add the herbs (plenty of thyme, less oregano and basil, a sprinkle of chilli) as i'm stirring the mushrooms in.

Whilst this is cooking (preferably as soon as you start cooking) peel the potatoes , cut up & boil again in a fairly large saucepan.

Note: you're just making mashed potatoes here - simple and plain, don't do anything fancy with them!

When the mince etc. is cooked turn into a deepish casserole dish. When the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, drain & mash with a little butter/marge. Put the mash on top of the mince mixture & make sure its completly covered particularly round the edges.

Note: Okay, here is where we get technical - the meat section of the pie (lets call it the house) wants to be around 50-70% of the depth of the dish depending on how much you like mashed potatoes (which we can call the roof or thatch). Make sure its level and even before you put the mash on top - and as mother says make sure you're layering it properly, as if you were plastering with the gorgeous stuff.

Put a few knobs of butter/marge on the top & put in a medium heat oven until brown.

Note: Well, you can - if you're cooking it in two parts, making a pie (about 40-50 minutes) and then eating it the next day - put it in an oven for about an hour, hour and a half at about 180C - wacking it up towards the end. Or you can sling it under a medium/high grill for about 10-15 minutes (maybe less) - after all, you've just cooked it, right? The intention is simply to brown the top rather than to cook it through!

Note: If you like cheese, and lets face it people who don't are a bit odd, in addition or instead of butter/marge you can grate some cheese. Normally i like cheddar so mature it makes the eyeballs bleed, but a medium-mature cheddar or similar (tasty, but not overwhelming) cheese is a good option for this. I totally, amazingly, muchly recommend this to everyone who likes cheese as a divine option.