COTTAGE PIE

According to Wikipedia, "cottage pie is quite similar to its better known cousin shepherds pie, with one distinction, Shepherds pie is traditionally made with lamb while cottage pie can contain any other kind of meat." Here it is prepared with ground beef.
My children loved this dish, they asked me repeatedly to keep the recipe and my daughter went back for seconds.
The recipe did make a lot of mashed potatoes, I spread them on to the desired thickness, and had some left over. So I would make less in the future.
However, the beef mixture reminded me of mince (meat) pies from back home in New Zealand - I can't wait to wrap the mixture in puff pastry!

COTTAGE PIE

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of ground beef
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup stout beer such as Guinness
1 cup of beef stock, divided use
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and ground black pepper
2 - 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup of hot milk
3 tablespoons butter, divided use
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350F.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is light golden brown. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef and thyme. Cook, breaking up beef, until beef is no longer pink.
Stir in beer, 1/2 cup of the beef stock, the worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Simmer 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in enough salted water to cover, until tender. Drain, mash potatoes with the hot milk, 2 tablespoons of the butter, 1/4 cup of cheese and the chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a small saucepan melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and whisk in the flour, whisking until all of the flour is coated with melted butter. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup beef broth, whisking until smooth. Stir into beef mixture.
Spread the beef mixture in a 9 inch pie plate or 6 individual oven safe dishes. Top with mashed potato mixture, spreading it over beef. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and top is lightly crispy.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, March 2011
www.nwaonline.com/