Comforting Cottage Pie

 

Just the name Cottage Pie stirs up memories of cozy pubs with a roaring wood fire and a good pint of local brew. In honor of St. Patrick's day I dusted off one of my all time favorite comfort foods and gave it a lovely Irish twist.

Cottage pie dates back to the late 1700s and was a way to use up leftover stewed meat. Typically this dish was found in more humble households where potatoes were used to make it a more filling and inexpensive meal.

You may know this dish as Shepard's Pie but that term didn't crop up until the next century. Since then there has been some tendency to affiliate Shepard's Pie with the dish when it is made with lamb or mutton and cottage pie when it is made with beef. Personally I like that way of differentiating and use it myself, though if you travel in Ireland you may find this dish referred to as either Shepard's Pie or Cottage Pie regardless of what it's made of.

Regardless of what you call it this comfort food is always wonderful and easy to make. The recipe I'm giving you today is the lazy man's version. If you have the time I encourage you to use fresh ingredients, but if not this can be easily whipped up in 45 minutes to an hour. What's the Irish twist you ask? A pint of Guinness of course!  I took a note from good Irish stew and used Guinness Stout to build my gravy instead of beef broth alone.

 Cottage Pie

Ingredients:
(serves 8)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 16 oz bag of frozen vegetables
1 24oz bag of steam and mash potatoes
1 15 oz can of Guinness stout
1-2 cups beef broth
1 tsp crushed bay leaves
1 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
flour (for the gravy)
2 cups of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Make mashed potatoes according to package directions and set aside for later use. (I also added some cream to smooth out the texture and flavor). In a large saucepan begin browning the meat. When most of the fat has cooked out pour it off and add the chopped onion and celery and seasonings. Saute until the vegetables are clear. Add the frozen vegetables and some of the beef broth and some of the beer. (work in 1/4 cup increments tasting as you go. You are building your gravy so you will want to make sure it is not too thin and that the beer does not overwhelm the meat.) As you add the liquid occasionally dust some flour over the contents of the pan and stir well to thicken the gravy. I used about 1 tbsp of flour, 1 cup of broth and 1/2 of the can of Guinness. Once you have the gravy to your liking pour the contents into your baking dish and drizzle the Worcestershire sauce across the top. De glaze the pan with a bit more broth or beer (just enough to get the good browned bits off) and pour over mixture. Top with shredded cheese and top that with the mashed potatoes. Smooth the potatoes to the edges of the baking dish and run a fork across it in lines to make a nice ridged pattern. Bake in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and the dish is warmed through. Serve and enjoy!  (I should note that the cheese is not traditional but it is so well liked in my house that I often include it. Additionally, should you not care for the flavor of the stout you can use straight beef broth or even a nice red wine.)

Perfect Pot Roast

For many, including myself, the wonderful film "Julie & Julia" was inspirational.  It introduced me to a medium for sharing my cooking adventures, this very blog. For others it inspired a desire to attempt foods they and many others considered intimidating. (I mean really after watching Julie tackle the duck deboning you almost have to feel you can conquer the world!) The film reminded many of the fun of seeing Julia Child in action on her groundbreaking cooking show and introduced a whole new generation to her culinary trailblazing and passion for great food.

As my blog has continued to develop this past year I have taken on many interesting dishes but there is one simple dish that I still felt needed work. That most traditional of entrees, the pot roast. 

My pot roast has always been nice but I had never reached that perfect fall apart, juicy and moist perfection. Until now.

This year for Christmas my husband bought me a number of cookbooks including " Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child. Page after page is filled with delectable main dishes that make you salivate as you read them and when I flipped to the section on Piece de Boeuf Braisee (Braised Beef Pot Roast to those of us with weak French skills) I knew I had to try it.  I had seen an almost identical recipe in her book "The Way to Cook" and since it incorporated tomatoes and left out some of the pieces I felt would be difficult to come by (split calves feet, and cracked veal knuckles) I used it, but either will do nicely.

Pot Roast of Beef

Ingredients: 

(serves 10 to 12)

5-pound fully-trimmed bottom round of beef

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh olive oil 

2 to 3 cups young red wine such as zinfandel or Chianti
1 cup each chopped carrots and onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 to 3 cups beef stock, plus more if needed
1 1/2 cups drained canned Italian plum tomatoes (or if available, chopped ripe red unpeeled tomatoes)  A bouquet garni: 6 parsley sprigs; 6 peppercorns; 3 whole cloves; 4 allspice berries; 1 teaspoon thyme; 2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, smashed; 1 large bay leaf – tied together in washed cheesecloth
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch blended with 2 tablespoons red wine

Preparation:

Review the book for Julia's exact recipe I have altered it here to reflect the steps I took while preparing this dish.

Dry the meat in paper towels. If it has not been tied, secure loops of string (butchers twine) around the circumference at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Rub the roast with oil and brown on all sides in a large frying pan on medium high heat. Remove the meat from the pan.  Sauté the chopped vegetables in a frying pan to brown lightly, and place them in a large crock pot.  Arrange the meat on top of the vegetables and add the tomatoes and the herb bouquet. Add some wine to the frying pan to deglaze and pour the contents over the beef. Add the rest of the wine and enough broth so the liquid comes a third of the way up the meat.Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

The beef is done when a sharp-pronged fork will go through it fairly easily – cut off and eat a piece to check: it will be some-what chewy but reasonably tender. Remove the meat to a board or tray and the vegetables to a serving dish. Strain the braising liquid into a sauce-pan, pressing juices out of the vegetables.

Thoroughly degrease the braising juices and bring to a simmer, skimming off any additional fat that rises. Taste very carefully for strength and seasoning; if the liquid is weak in flavor, boil down rapidly to concentrate it. You should have 2 to 2 1/2 cups of deliciously winey meat juices. Correct the seasoning, remove from heat, and whisk in the cornstarch mixture (cornstarch and wine). When blended, return to the heat and simmer 2 minutes. The sauce should just coat a spoon lightly, meaning it will coat the meat lightly – if too thin, thicken with another spoonful or so of cornstarch and wine. Pour the sauce over and around the beef.
 
To serve, remove the meat to a carving board or hot platter, and discard the trussing strings. Either carve it in the kitchen or bring it to the table for carving. In this case spoon a little sauce over the meat to glaze it, decorate the platter with parsley sprigs, watercress, or vegetables, and pass the sauce separately.

I really recommend getting your hands on a copy of the book to read it for yourself. There is something about the way Julia writes that just can not be passed along by others you have to experience for yourself the fluid musical quality of her writing. It truly makes the recipe come to life.

Speaking of coming to life, this recipe is sure to bring your Sunday dinner table to life with many requests for seconds and maybe even thirds!

The original recipe can be found in "The Way to Cook" Julia Child, 1994, Alfred A. Knopf.