Recipe - Cottage-ish pie

I must get it out straight away, there's no hiding it. This is one of the best dishes I've cooked and eaten for quite some time. I know it's considered bad form to brag about your own accomplishments but in this case I don't give a flying f... It was just awesome. ;)

If you just try one of my recipes ever, make this one it. It's a perfect winter warmer and such comfort food that you'll be able to take the hard knocks of life with a smile on your face for quite some time.

I call it cottage-ish pie since I did freestyle it a bit as per my usual way. The baked beans adds a bit of a different texture while the grated carrot adds some crunchiness as well as some extra liquid so it doesn't get too dry. Dry cottage pie is just not very nice.

As you notice from the ingredients I added Dijon mustard to the mash. It gives it a nice bite and changes the colour a little bit. If you don't like Dijon, why not try adding some horseradish sauce? Hey, go the extra distance and score extra kinkyness points by using Wasabi!

Enough waffling, over to the recipe...

Ingredients (serves about 4)
For the topping
A large batch of creamy mash, use about 800g potatoes to make it
Dijon mustard (optional)
Salt
Pepper

For the filling
500g beef mince
1 onion, diced
Garlic, finely diced - to taste
Frozen peas, one to two good handfuls
1 large carrot, grated
1 can of Heinz baked beans
Tabasco (optional)
Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan on a medium heat. Add the mince and let it fry for a little bit. Once the mince starts to colour add in the onion and garlic.

Let this fry for a while until the mince is cooked and most of the liquid has cooked away. Add salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir in the frozen peas and let them warm through for a minute or two.

In the meantime prepare the mash, don't forget to stir in two to three teaspoons of a good size worth of Dijon mustard. Make sure to make the mash nice and creamy. Season well.

When the mince starts to look ready, add in the baked beans and the carrot. Stir through and turn off the heat.

Pour the mince into a 2 liter oven safe casserole dish. Spoon the mash on top and make sure to get an even layer. If you feel like it, use a fork to make some nice patterns.

Put the casserole dish in the oven until the mash starts to get a nice brown colour as well as turning a bit crispy. This should take about 25 - 30 minutes, but keep it there until you feel happy with the look of it all.

Enjoy!