Cottage Pie with Leeks & Mushrooms
Recipe by Fran Allen
Ingredients
14
Time
1h 30m
Serves
105
This is a cozy, comforting recipe for the dark winter nights. This dish is rich and comforting, made with grass-fed beef mince, leeks, mushrooms and topped with light and fluffy mashed potatoes. This is a great meal prep opinion to have in the freezer when weeknights get busy.
Dinner
Kid-Friendly
Meal Prep
Gluten-Free
Ingredients
3Tbsp
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2lbs
Ground Beef
1
Leek
2
Garlic Cloves
2
Carrots
1/2lb
Mushrooms
1/2cup
Frozen Peas
1Tbsp
Tamari
1/2tsp
Sea Salt
1cup
Beef Stock
1tsp
Cornstarch
2lbs
Potatoes
2Tbsp
Unsalted Butter
2Tbsp
2% Milk
Instructions
1
In a large oven safe pan, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat and begin to brown the beef mince, you may need to do this in stages. That’s okay! Once all of the beef is browned, set aside.
2
In the same pan, add the remaining olive oil to the rendered beef fat, then add the leeks. Cook the leeks until translucent then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms in batches until they are all browned. Then add the garlic, peas, carrots and season with sea salt.
3
Once the mixture is soft, add the beef back to the pan with the tamari, stock and cornstarch. Cook down until the stock is reduced to a gravy texture. Set the pan aside and allow the mixture to cool while you work on the mashed potatoes. The cooling will help the pie maintain its layers. Preheat your oven to 375°.
4
To prepare the mashed potatoes, boil your peeled potatoes in salted water (use about 2 Tbsp sea salt in the cooking water) and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes and allow them to rest for a moment.
5
You can proceed to mash the potatoes with a potato masher but I prefer to use a potato ricer to get a fine and light textured mashed potato. If you do not have a ricer, you can press your cooked potatoes through a fine mesh sieve. It takes a bit of elbow grease but it’s worth it!
6
Once the potatoes are mashed, fold in your butter and milk to the mixture to add richness. Then begin adding dollops of the mash to your beef mixture. Once the dish is covered in an even layer you may spread the mash out in a decorative way using a spoon or fork if you wish.
7
Bake the pie for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbling. You can serve this dish with a big green salad or some simple steamed vegetables.
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More Recipes by Fran Allen
Fran Allen, CNP is a non-diet certified Holistic Nutritionist based in Toronto. Her work focuses on intuitive eating, achieving health at every size and dismantling diet culture. She uses her years of professional culinary experience to make meals fun, easy and satisfying.