After a couple weeks being spread all over the globe - my littlest ones at the beach in the Gulf, my oldest in Canada, and me roaming around Europe - Sunday night dinner was the perfect way to celebrate being home. Finding inspiration in fabulous restaurants and sunny farmer's markets while traveling is not difficult, in fact you can expect a lot more of those things playing into future posts. But finding inspiration in family recipes, and "classics" of different cultures can be a little more difficult.
Many times the history of a people greatly affects their food, and I personally feel a great deal of worry tackling some of their best-known dishes. What if I don't get the techniques? Use the wrong spices? Completely miss the mark? I met this challenge head-on as I was asked by my daughter to make a dish she had on her travels - an English shepherd's pie. Now I've made this dish before, even though she doesn't remember. But now that she's had it prepared "authentically" the pressure was on. I'm not sure if it was being home, or if it was her reassurance that each component tasted "perfect," but somewhere between boiling the potatoes and chopping the onions I felt my confidence return.
After a little research I realized I was I was actually making "cottage pie", the beef version of shepherd's pie, and my instincts about spices and preparation were pretty spot on. Here's my version, not so English, but delicious. Nothing is like being back in your own kitchen, but let yourself be inspired by those culinary gems you find on the road, they'll make being home even sweeter!
Cottage pie with beef and corn
Ingredients
Cooked corn, peas, and/or carrots
For potatoes:
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 TBS butter
milk (enough to cream potatoes)
salt & pepper to taste
For beef:
1 lb ground beef (can substitute with ground lamb)
1 small onion, diced
1 TBS butter
1 TBS of beef base plus water (or 1/2 can beef broth)
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Boil salted water and add potatoes, preheat oven to 375°, grease 9 x 9 pan
- Melt butter for beef mixture and add diced onions, cook on medium until translucent
- Add beef, season with salt & pepper, and cook until no longer pink - taste for seasoning
- Add beef base or broth and simmer until reduced - you don't want very much liquid at this point. Remove beef mixture from heat and allow to cool while you prep the potatoes
- Drain and mash fork-tender potatoes, season, add butter, and milk until creamy, yet still a bit stiff - the less milk, the crustier the topping later (your preference)
- Line the bottom of the 9 x 9 pan with the beef mixture, then layer your pre-cooked vegetables (my kids demanded our batch be corn only), and finally the potatoes - smooth each layer before adding the next
- Drag a fork in a diagonal pattern on through the top of the potatoes to create peaks that will crisp up in the oven (optional but worth it!)
- Bake for 30 minutes or until brown - I added an extra 2 under the broiler for added crispiness
Serve with roasted vegetables or a salad (or both like we did), for a healthy, well-rounded dinner, without using up your frequent flyer miles!