Beef stew cottage pie
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Andrew Burton
Beef stew cottage pie
This comforting beef stew cottage pie recipe reimagines the retro school dinner classic. The assembled dish can be prepared a day ahead of cooking
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
624Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
10gr
Carbs
52gr
Sugars
12gr
Fibre
8gr
Protein
47gr
Salt
1.6gr
Emily Jonzen
Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
Emily Jonzen
Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1kg diced stewing steak (we used beef shin)
- 2 onions, sliced
- 4 large carrots, cut into large chunks
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 500ml brown ale
- 500ml beef stock (made using 1 stock pot or cube)
- 2 bay leaves
- a few sprigs of thyme
- 1.2kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 100ml whole milk
- 50g butter
- 75g mature cheddar, grated
Step by step
Get ahead
The assembled dish can be prepared, cooled and chilled a day ahead, or frozen (defrost before baking). Add 10-15 minutes when cooking from chilled; make sure the centre is piping hot.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole. Pat the beef dry and season well. Fry in batches until nicely browned and then remove from the casserole and set aside. Add a further tablespoon of oil to the casserole if necessary and brown the onions and carrots. Stir in the flour, cook for a minute, and then return the meat and any juices to the pan. Stir through the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, pour over the ale and stock and add the herbs. Bring to a simmer before covering with a tight-fitting lid.
- Place the stew in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is completely tender. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, tip the potatoes into a large pan of cold, salted water. Bring up to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until tender to the tip of a knife. Drain well in a colander. Pour the milk into the pan and once steaming return the potatoes to the pan and mash until smooth. Stir through the butter and cheese. Season to taste.
-
Increase the oven temperature to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. You want the stew to be fairly thick, so if it is still quite liquid, strain the beef and veg through a colander into a large saucepan. Simmer the sauce until thickened and reduced, then check the seasoning and transfer to a large baking dish with the meat and veg stirred through. Spoon over the mash and spread out, or pipe evenly over the stew, to cover. Place the dish on an oven tray and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serve with steamed green veg.
