Search

Random Recipe

Cottage Pie - What could possibly go wrong?

Cottage Pie

There is a tale behind this simple dinner. We had about 250g of raw mince Beef in the freezer from a previous meal and thought a simple Cottage Pie would be good. So I fished the mince out and popped it on the hub top to the thaw. Nothing too strange so far. But….. We’ve cleaned the cooker so many time over the last couple of years than the hob symbols have disappeared. Sue has a mental plan for which knob turns on which ring, but it won’t stick in my head. So when I’d pealed the Potatoes and cut them ready to boil I turned the ring on as Sue was chopping Onions etc. on the other work surface. I set about washing up the bits and bobs we had used so far. Strange Plastic smell – Argghhh!!! I’d turned the back ring on and melted the Plastic tub the mince was in!!!!

Off to the local convenience store for more not Plastic infused mince I trundled! It was good in the end…..


Ingredients:-
 
500g of minced Pork
2 large Onions, finely chopped
Soy Sauce (GF if required)
Tomato Puree
2 Carrots, finely chopped
Potatoes, boiled and mashed
Gravy Granules (Bisto Best are GF)
Cheese, grated to top
Oil
Vegetables of your choice
 
Method:-

 
(1) Heat a little oil in a large pan. Add the mince and fry to brown all over, stirring to break up any large chunks. Set aside.
(2) Add a splash more oil to the pan, Carrot and Onion and fry until the Onion is softened.
(3) Mix the Gravy Granules with boiling water to make sufficient to moisten the mince in a casserole dish.
(4) Preheat the oven to 180c.
(5) Add the mince to the Onions and Carrot and stir in the gravy, a good dash of Soy Sauce and a squeeze of Tomato Puree..
(6) Transfer to a large casserole dish and add the mashed Potato to the top to cover.
(7) Place the casserole in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes or until the Potato has a golden brown top.
(8) Sprinkle with grated Cheese and place back in the oven until the Cheese has melted and crisped a little.
 
We enjoyed ours with Corn on the Cob and Fried Kale.
 

On Facebook

Parsi Kheema Per Eeda recipe, eat well on universal credit

Apparently this is a favoured breakfast in some areas of India. Meat and Eggs, similar in a way to a traditional English breakfast I guess? We added boiled Rice to make a main meal out of it.

Ingredients:-

500g of Minced Lamb
1 Red Onion, finely diced
a Thumbnail of Ginger, grated
5 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
2 Green Chillies, deseeded
½ a Tsp of Turmeric
½ a Tsp of Chilli Powder
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp of Tomato puree
200ml of Water
1 Tbsp of Spirit Vinegar
1 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
Salt & Pepper to season
4 Eggs
Oil to fry
Chopped Coriander to garnish

Method:-

(1) Add the Ginger, Garlic and one Green Chilli to 3 Tbsp of water and wuzz in a blender.
(2) You are aiming for a smooth paste.
(3) Add the Mince to a bowl along with 1 tsp of the paste.
(4) Mix well and set aside.
(5) Heat the Oil in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, or Dutch Oven.
(6) Add the Onion and fry until softened and light brown.
(7) Add the remaining paste and stir well.
(8) Add the Mince along with the Turmeric and Chilli Powder.
(9) Cook over a medium heat and 10minutes, stirring so that the meat is evenly browned.
(10) Add the chopped Tomatoes, Tomato Puree and the remaining Green Chillies (Slit lengthways).
(11) Allow to simmer for a further 4 minutes.
(12) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(13) Add the water and bring to the boil.
(14) Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on.
(15) Stir gently half way through cooking.
(16) Add the Vinegar and Sugar and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
(17) Break one Egg at a time into the  Kheema and on a low heat cook the Eggs for 4 to 5 minutes.
(18) Cover with the lid so that the Whites set but you still have runny Yolks.
(19) Garnish with Coriander and serve.

The Vinegar and Sugar added an interesting flavour twist. Really enjoyable. Strangely we did end up eating left overs for breakfast, but that wasn’t really the plan…...

We don’t like the price of fresh minced Lamb in the local supermarkets. I ventured into the Iceland Food Warehouse and found a 1kg bag of frozen mince for £3.75. Which was much more realistic!

Social Links

Translate

English French German Italian Portuguese Russian Spanish