Beef Cottage Pie with Buttery Mash

What you need

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 900 g (2 lb) beef mince
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 500 ml (2 cups) beef stock
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 kg (2 lb) floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or russet, peeled and cut into chunks
• 60 g (4 tbsp) butter
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk, warm
• 1 egg yolk
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole over medium heat. Cook the onions and carrots, stirring now and then, until soft and lightly coloured, 8 min.

2. 2

   Add the beef and raise the heat to medium-high. Break it up with a wooden spoon and cook until browned all over and no pink remains, 8-10 min.

3. 3

   Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 2 min to cook out the raw taste.

4. 4

   Stir in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and let them fry for 1 min.

5. 5

   Pour in the beef stock, scraping up the browned bits, then add the thyme, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt and a good grinding of black pepper.

6. 6

   Partly cover and simmer gently for 30 min, stirring now and then, until the gravy is thick. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.

7. 7

   Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water, bring to a boil and cook until tender to the tip of a knife, 15-20 min.

8. 8

   Drain the potatoes well and return them to the hot pan over low heat for 1 min to steam off excess water.

9. 9

   Mash the potatoes with the butter. Beat the milk with the yolk, then beat it into the mash and season with salt and black pepper.

10. 10

    Heat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F).

11. 11

    Remove the bay leaves, taste the filling for seasoning and spread it in a 2-litre baking dish. Let it cool for 10 min so the mash does not sink.

12. 12

    Spoon the mash over the filling, spread it to the edges and rough up the top with a fork.

13. 13

    Set the dish on a baking tray and bake until the gravy bubbles at the edges and the potato peaks are golden, 25-30 min.

14. 14

    Let the pie stand for 10 min before serving.

Imported from notentirelyaverage.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.