Monday 20 September 2010

Gordon Ramsay's Cottage Pie

Another autumn dish, the Cottage Pie is a British favourite. I love how easy conti cooking is compared to the elaborate Indian meal. A couple of my brothers friends called up last Friday and said they were coming over....imagine 4 boys, early twenties. I thought, OK I'll just make a veg. bake, grilled chicken and get garlic bread and dessert from the store, when they pleaded with me and said they were dying to have mallu grub, that too kappa (tapioca) and fish curry. Blimey...I freaked out! As you all might already know, I suck at making Kerala dishes, leave alone something as authentic as kappa (mashed tapioca). But I felt so sorry for the fellas and decided to go all out and make it any way. So I started at around 12 in the afternoon and was only able to sit down and have a drink at 8pm when they actually arrived. And you'd think I cooked up a storm??? Well all I made was...rice, a prawn curry, a thoran (veg dish), kappa and beef curry. Yes it took me 8 hrs to do all this, and the mess I made..oh god don't even make me start on that. The tapioca was such a mess, but the boys were so unbelievable happy that there was absolutely no left over. They would have thanked me at least a hundred times for the awesome dinner..which, in spite of all that hard work, did make me feel happy. Also, the fact that I made Ro clean up afterwards, massage my back because I was standing all day, and then eating out the entire weekend did make it worth it, Id say (evil laugh...)

But seriously, never again am I gonna make Indian food when I have people over..the chopping, stirring, simmering and seasoning just made it so unpleasant, I decided to stick to some bakes and grills for the coming week..and that's just what I did...kick started the week with this cottage pie.
(Interesting trivia.... using beef mince makes it a Cottage Pie and lamb mince makes it a Shepherds pie).

Adapted from a Gordon Ramsay recipe that came on Channel 4.
Beef mince- 500 gms
Onion- 1 medium, grated
Tomato- 1, grated
Frozen green peas- a handful
Garlic- 2 pods, grated
Pepper powder- 1 tsp (or to taste)
Chilli powder- 1 tsp (optional)
Dried Thyme- 1 tsp
Dried Rosemary- 1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce- 2 tbsp
Red wine- 250 ml
Chicken stock- 300 ml
Olive oil
Salt- to taste

For the potato mash
Large potatoes- 1/2 kg
Egg yolks- 2 (optional)
Butter- 50 gms
Cheddar cheese- 1/4 cup + enough to sprinkle on top
Olive oil
Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker, grate the onions and garlic into it with a grater and sauté till they turn translucent.
Grate the tomatoes into the pan and cook till it becomes a bit mushy.
Add the beef mince to this and mix well.
Season with pepper and chilli powder and also add the Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
Add the frozen green peas and the red wine and cook till almost evaporated.
Add the chicken stock and put on the lid, followed by the weight when the steam comes.
Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium- high flame, or for about 2 whistles.
Release the pressure, and open the lid. If there is way too much liquid, then boil again on high heat till they are more or less evaporated. It should be a thick gravy.

While that's taken care of, get the potatoes ready.
Boil the potatoes in salt water, till soft. 
Peel and mash them along with the cheese, salt and pepper and egg yolk if adding to a smooth consistency...not too runny or too thick.

Assembling:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C
Layer the bottom of an oven proof dish with the mince meat mix.
Spoon in large amounts of mashed potato on to the meat and carefully layer it, working from the outside, into the middle.
Generously grate some cheddar cheese on top of the potato, fluff it up with a fork if needed and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve with some bread or even better garlic bread...and feast on :)
Notes: You can use carrots, parsnips, leek or any veggie of your choice.
The good part of this recipe is that you can grate all this into the cooker and not use a chopping board..less things to wash ;)
If you want a very Indian flavour, feel free to use coriander powder, garam masala,meat masala etc.
Red wine is optional, just the chicken stock would do, but check the salt and only then add more..the stock can be really salty
I was lazy and so used store bought mashed potato instead of making my own. It was a tad too thick, so I loosened it up with some milk. Also, its not as thick as it should be...it only formed a very thin layer which was fine by us..less carbs :)

27 comments:

Unknown said...

Woow....looks very gorgeous and delicious.....will try it with chicken....

Satrupa said...

I like your write up. Agree that Indian Cooking is so lengthy ..... but the results are worth it !! Especially if hubby darling is ready to give u a back massage ;-)

Lovely Clicks ......

Cheers n Happy Cooking,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Torviewtoronto said...

lovely presentation

Reshmi Ahmed said...

lovely cottage pie ! and nice clicks (as always :))...

Sunitha said...

Fantastic.. that looks great! Noted the trivia about Cottage pie versus Shepherd's pie too ;)

Indian cooking from scratch is quite painful when doing for a crowd (more than 2 people) Kudos to you for getting through it all successfully.

Tanvi said...

I really agree with you on this one.Indian cooking is so damn hectic. I too spent 6.5 hours cooking for some irritating far-off aunt on this weekend so I perfectly understand and sympathize with your 8 hr toil.Atleast you had good, cheerful and youth company at the end of it :);)
And the pie looks yummy & scrumptious....oh I love leftover stuff especially meats...they taste far better!

Suji said...

I love to watch chef ramsay...I love his show Hells kitchen...

this is amazing stuff Nisha..Great clicks as ever...

Nitha said...

Looks interesting..

Monet said...

This looks like perfect comfort food. There is nothing like a warm and hearty casserole to take the bite off of a colder day. Thank you for sharing...as always, your writing and your photographs are lovely!

Unknown said...

Hi,

Lovely pie...looks delicious...must try it some time...

Dr.Sameena@

www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

Purnima@a creative project said...

I love Gordon Ramsey's cooking style and recipes( ..except his language:))
wow..8 hours! Lucky people who got to enjoy the feast!!

Priya Suresh said...

Very filling and comforting pie, lovely dish..

Jaisy James said...

looks delicious

Vrinda said...

Gorgeous pie..lov Ramsey's recipes...

Akila said...

looks so delicious dear...

http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com

Regards,
Akila.

Suja Manoj said...

Looks gorgeous..very nice recipe..
What you said is true..cooking is painful...eight hours work..very tiresome dear.

Namitha said...

That's making me hungry...Great job Nish !

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Gorgeous cottage pie. Well feel sorry for you...I was stirring the pot the same time you were too..i had 8 guests on Saturday and I am very thankful MIL was around to help.

Foodie Ann said...

I haven't yet prepared anything Indian for than 4 pple...so I haven't started complaining yet...he he ... lets see...

BTW nice clicks :) Kudos..
Ann.

Sushma Mallya said...

Looks yum, nice recipe,would love to try out with chicken ....

Hayley said...

while I was reading I laughed..hope u didn't learn any ramsay words;) always watch his programmes..! lovely dish..

Nithu said...

Looks yummy. I am sure it would have tasted awesome.

Unknown said...

This sounds interesting! Wish that I can try some :)

Unknown said...

This looks so yum!! Never tasted it before but seeing the pics and ingredients, am sure it would have tasted divine!! Bookmarked!

Prerna@IndianSimmer said...

Wow, I come I never tried your recipes before! All of them are so awesome. Trying this one for sure and would let you know.
Bookmarking!
Are you on twitter by any chance?

Padhu Sankar said...

I am a pure vegetarian,so no comments. But I enjoyed reading the first paragraph and loved all your photos.
Keep rocking!!I must tell u that,even if u post non veg dishes ,I come here to read your write up

Unknown said...

ohhh long hours of Indian cooking, sigh! but as you said when guest enjoy the food and say thanks it takes all tiredness away :) yum pie loved clicks :)