Cottage pie with fluffy mashed potatoes
A savory beef and vegetable filling under a golden blanket of buttery mashed potatoes, the coziest thing you can pull out of an oven.
- 75 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.93 a serving
- 580 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 lb yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½-inch chunks
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90/10)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk, warmed
From your pantry
- 8 cups water
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 580 calories, 33 g protein, 57 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $3.93 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yukon gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No lean ground beef? Ground beef works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No beef broth? Bone broth or chicken broth works.
- No gluten-free tamari? Soy sauce works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover them with the cold water, add 1 tsp of the salt, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
to medium and gently for 15 to 18 minutes, until a fork slides into the potatoes with no resistance.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Medium heatTimer: 16 min 40 sec
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large over medium-high heat, add the beef, and break it into small .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: The potatoes look after themselves, so this is the moment to start the filling.Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until no pink is left and it’s in spots, then spoon out any extra fat.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the onion, carrots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, , until , then stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
the cornstarch into 2 tbsp of the broth, add it with the rest of the broth, the tamari, thyme and ½ tsp of the salt, and for 5 minutes, until thick and glossy.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 5 min
in the peas and pepper and spread the filling in an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the potatoes, return them to the pot, and mash them with the butter, milk and the rest of the salt until fluffy.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Dolly’s tip: A potato masher is easiest, but a sturdy fork works. A few small lumps are homemade, not wrong.Spread the mash over the filling, rough up the top with a fork, and for 20 minutes, until on top and bubbling at the edges.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Let it sit for 5 minutes before scooping so the filling sets and holds together.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
