Cottage Pie

Ingredients

0 of 19 out on the counter

• 1 lb lean ground beef (90% lean)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups cooked brown lentils, unsalted
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 tsp salt, for the mash

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover them with cold water, and add a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until a knife slides in with no resistance. A mile up, water boils at about 203 °F, so that takes a few minutes longer than the sea-level 15 minutes: about 20.
2. 2Meanwhile, set a deep 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and break it up as it cooks. Cook until no pink is left and the meat reads 160 °F on a food thermometer, about 8 minutes. Spoon off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
3. 3Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook 6 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and the tomato paste and let them sizzle for a minute. Then sprinkle on the flour and stir for another minute.
4. 4Pour in the broth and the Worcestershire sauce, and stir in the lentils. Add the thyme, bay leaf, ½ teaspoon salt and the pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the gravy is thick and a spoon leaves a trail. The simmer runs a quarter longer here than at sea level. Take out the bay leaf and stir in the peas. Turn the heat off.
5. 5Heat the oven to 400 °F. Drain the potatoes and put them back in the hot pot for 1 minute to dry. Mash them with the oil, the milk and 1 teaspoon salt until smooth.
6. 6Spoon the potatoes over the filling in dollops and spread them to the edge so the filling is sealed. Rough up the top with a fork; the ridges brown.
7. 7Set the skillet on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, until the gravy bubbles at the edge and the ridges are golden. The middle should read 165 °F. Rest 10 minutes before you cut it.
8. 8Cool leftovers within 2 hours, then refrigerate up to 4 days. To freeze, cut the cooled pie into squares, wrap each, and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat until it reads 165 °F in the middle.