Lovely Bubbly Cottage Pie

Cottage pie is a classic British dish. Stewed beef mince cloaked in mashed potato and baked in the oven until hot and oozy. Wintry comfort food which is tasty, but somewhat lacking in vegetable content. Here in the UK we are being urged to eat more vegetables, and sometimes it is difficult to ensure enough are eaten without resorting to the same old standbyes such as steamed veggies, boiled veggies or salad.

Bubble and Squeak is another classic British dish. It's a Monday institution, having been made from the leftover cooked vegetables from Sunday lunch for generations. The cooked vegetables are mashed together loosely, put into a hot pan and fried. 

The more you mash it, the more indistinct the individual vegetables' character becomes, a great way of hiding vegetables from fussy eaters. (I'm not suggesting for a minute that there are young children who look out for the particular colours and flavours of vegetables so that they might turn their noses up, saying "why can't we have chips? Veg is horrible!") 

On the other hand, light mashing means the vegetables maintain some of their texture and structure, allowing their presence to be discerned. Bubble and Squeak (sometimes simply called "bubble") makes a pleasing accompaniment to an undemanding dinner on a Monday night. Just what you need after getting over the first day of the week and the rigours of going back to work after the weekend. 

My thought was why not put these two iconic dishes together? Oozy stewed beef mince and baked mix mash topping. Healthy, comforting and cheap. If you were to make double the quantity of the filling, you could cook one batch and freeze the other so that you can save time on a weekday night. 

As Del Boy (from Only Fools and Horses) might say "lovely jubbly!". Del, that famous denizen of Peckham, which is just down the road from me, is the inspiration for the name of the dish.

Lovely Bubbly Cottage Pie

You will need:

An oven proof dish to cook the pie in.

A baking sheet to make taking the oven proof dish out of the oven at the end much easier.

A saucepan for making the filling.

A saucepan for boiling the bubble topping vegetables.

Serves 4 people as a main

Ingredients

For the Bubble and Squeak topping:

3-4 potatoes (depending on size), peeled and cooked

1 handful each of the following cooked vegetables:

cauliflower

broccoli

swede

carrot

(can be replaced with most leftover veg from Sunday lunch)

50g butter

A dribble (around 1 tbsp) of milk

For the Cottage Pie filling:

500g beef mince

1 carrot, very finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp Worcester sauce

1 tbsp Mushroom Ketchup (optional)

300ml hot beef stock

1 tbsp beef gravy granules stirred into the stock

Olive oil for frying; between 1 tbsp and 2 tbsp

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 deg C (fan oven setting), or I would estimate that 180 deg C on a non-fan setting would be equivalent. 

2. If you have not cooked your Bubble and Squeak topping vegetables, including the potatoes, then cook them now.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. 

4. Add the onion and carrot. Fry, without browning, for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. 

5. Add the crushed garlic, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, lowering the heat if needed to prevent the garlic burning.

6. The beef mince should go in now, and the heat may need to be raised to help the meat change colour. The beef should be browned all over.

7. All the liquid ingredients should then be added (stock with gravy granules, tomato puree, Worcester sauce, mushroom ketchup). Stir thoroughly.

8. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

9. Mash up the vegetables for the bubble topping to whatever consistency you prefer. 

10. Put the oven proof dish on the baking sheet. Empty the simmered beef filling into the oven proof dish. 

11. Now you will need to top the beef with the mashed bubble topping. Take care and don't be heavy handed or it will sink to the bottom. If you are better at presentation than I am, do feel free to use a piping bag to pipe out onto the top of the pie. Smooth out as best as you can if you are not using a piping bag. 

12. Put into the hot oven for 30 minutues, plus another 5 if needed. 

Serve and enjoy!

Snigdha's Marvellously Manageable Meatloaf

Him Indoors loves Meatloaf. Not the ever-so-over-the-top American rock star, but the quintessentially thrifty English suppertime dish. Trouble is, I've never been able to get it right so far. Mainly because the final version has ended up over oily, fatty or greasy. And if you make a greasy Meatloaf, although you may be able to stomach it when hot, there is no way in this world you will manage to eat it cold in sandwiches. The fat will congeal and I think I need say not more. The word 'congeal' will work its magic upon you and you will feel the same revulsion I did on trying to make sandwiches out of the self same super-fatty Meatloaf.

So I'd been wondering how to rehabilitate this great suppertime dish without stacks of fuss and bother. The answer was revealed to me in the most unlikely place. Whilst shopping in Lewisham, I happened to wander into TX Maxx. Although Robbie Williams and I will never be friends, he was right in his observation about the value for money to be found in that particular shop. Amongst other things I found in there was a bespoke loaf tin for making meatloaf. Bespoke because it anticipated the greasiness problem and inbuilt a means for draining off the excess fat during the cooking process. Score!

My new purchase from TK Maxx! Bargain!

So here is my recipe for a herby and flavourful meatloaf. It is perfect with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Serves 2-3 as a main course with mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

320-350g pork mince

500g beef mince

100g pancetta slices

75g white (or homemade) breadcrumbs

1 small-medium onion, very finely diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or very finely diced

1 egg, beaten in a mug

2 fresh bay leaves

2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

5 leaves sage, very finely chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp paprika powder

2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed, finely chopped (just under 1 teaspoon)

A decent glug (between ½-1 tsp) Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

My aromatics and flavourings

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (non fan oven).
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan, and add the olive oil.
3. Now add the onion and 2 bay leaves. Fry for 4 mins on a gentle heat.
   

   

   
   
4. Add the garlic and fry for another 5-6 mins. Do not allow to brown, turn down the heat if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and allow to cool.
5. Mix the minced meats, herbs, paprika, worcester sauce, mustard, cooled onion and garlic, salt and pepper very thoroughly. You will get your hands rather dirty but it is totally worth it!
   

   

   
   

   
6. Now add the egg. You can beat it in advance, but frankly, the only way of mixing thoroughly is with your fingers, so it is not really worth it. Work through the mixture very thoroughly.
7. Add the breadcrumbs and mix again. Work all the way through the mixture.
8. The mix will start to firm now, and it should be easy to work into a loaf type shape to fit your tin.
9. Shape and place in the tin allowing a little space each side.
10. Now place your pancetta strips along the whole meatloaf, leaving no gaps. The pancetta will insulate the mince from the heat of the oven and impart its smoky flavours into the meatloaf.
    
    

    
11. Cook for 45 mins to 1 hour until the pancetta is beginning to brown.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10-15 mins before carving.
    
    

    
13. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.
    
    

    

    The proof the pan works - the icky grease which was left behind