Cottage Pie

Healthiness : (78 votes)

Difficulty:  
Comments:

Skills required: using a knife, using the hob, preparing a selection of vegetables, using a vegetable peeler, using an oven.

Processes used: testing with a knife,  mashing,  chopping, tossing, draining 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 -30 minutes
Number of servings: 4
Serving suggestions: Serve with seasonal vegetables.

 Show all


This classic savoury dish can be made with beef, lamb or soya mince. The cabbage in the topping makes a nice change from using potato only. If you don't want to use cabbage try using sweet potato or carrot in the mash instead.

• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 3 medium potatoes (about 700g) peeled and cut into chunks
• ¼ savoy cabbage, shredded
• 250g lean minced beef (you could use lamb or soya mince too!)
• 15ml plain flour
• 15ml tomato puree
• 15ml Worcestershire sauce
• 300 ml water
• 1 stock cube
• up to 150ml semi-skimmed milk

Use lean mince and semi-skimmed milk to keep the amount of fat used in this dish low.

• Vegetable knife
• Chopping board
• Vegetable peeler
• Scales
• Saucepan
• High-sided frying pan
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring jug
• Colander
• Potato masher
• Oven-proof dish

Always wash your hands before preparing food.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas 6
2. Prepare the vegetables
3. Put the potatoes in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until soft. Test with a knife
4. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, dry fry the beef with the carrot and onion until the mince is browned
5. Stir in the flour, tomato puree and the Worcestershire sauce
6. Add the stock cube to the water to make up the stock
7. Add the stock to the meat mixture, bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 -10 minutes, until the carrot is soft
8. During the last 5 minutes of cooking the potatoes, add the cabbage to the pan
9. Drain the potatoes and cabbage in a colander 
10. Return these to the saucepan and mash well with the milk.
11. Spread the meat mixture into an oven-proof dish 
12. Spoon the mash over the top
13. Use a fork to decorate the top and bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes, until golden brown

There are 4 comments for this recipe.
Add a comment

Name: Victory	22nd May 2013
Free info like this is an apple from the tree of knwoldege. Sinful?

Name: Laura	18th February 2013
awesome recipes

Name: Jh

29th April 2012

good recipe where did the original format of l2c recipe go? We are not sure what you are asking. We do have a selection of historical recipes in our History Cookbook, this Cottage Pie recipe however was designed for our Licence to Cook section to teach basic cookery skills and we don't think we have had a historical version of this dish. If anyone wishes to add one to the site, they would be very welcome to do so. The Cookit Team

View all comments, or Add a comment