Welcome to the second installment of the Blogger C.L.U.E. Society Monthly Challenge. The challenge this month was to come up with something our grandmothers would have cooked from our fellow C.L.U.E. Society member's blog. I was assigned Kate from Kate's Kitchen.
This was a bit of a challenge for me because my grandmother was born in 1900 in Sri Lanka, so most of the cooking she did was native to her homeland. I was not expecting to find too many Sri Lankan dishes on Kate's blog so I knew I had to ask my mother more questions about what my grandmother would have eaten or cooked. My mother reminded me that Sri Lanka was a British Crown Colony during a majority of my grandmother's life and she lived in England for several years during the 1960's. I decided a British dish like Shepard's Pie or Cottage Pie would have been something she would have eaten and maybe even cooked.
I was thrilled to find Kate had Cottage Pie on her blog. I have made several Cottage/Shepard's pies on my blog, but never like Kate's dish. What made Kate's recipe stand out to me was her Scalloped Potato Topping. I have never seen anything like that before on a Cottage pie and was very intrigued to try it out. Well, it was so easy to put together and my husband especially loved the scalloped potatoes. I may have a new favorite way of topping cottage pie now!
My grandmother was a very elegant lady and I am sure she would have been very pleased by the dish I chose in honor of her memory today.
Cottage Pie Recipe
by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 T tomato paste
coarsely ground salt and pepper
1 lb ground beef or lamb (I used ground chicken)
2 t fresh thyme leaves (it's fine to substitute with dried)
1 1/2 c dark beer
1/4 c red wine (Cabernet or zinfandel would be best)
2 T flour
3/4 c frozen peas
1 c grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 large russet potato very thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
2 T olive oil
coarsely ground salt and pepper
Directions:
Saute onion, carrots and garlic in one tablespoon of olive oil. Once onion is softened add tomato paste and cook for a minute. Then add the ground meat (beef, lamb or chicken) and cook with the sauteed onions until browned. Next add the beer, wine and thyme and bring to a boil until the liquid reduces. Then sprinkle flour and stir quickly to avoid lumps. Finally add the peas and heat through. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and top with the grated cheddar cheese. Next thinly slice potato (I used a mandolin slicer to make easy work of this job) and layer potato over cheese. Drizzle 2 Tbs of olive oil over scalloped potatoes then season them with salt and black pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes (I placed my dish on top of a baking sheet to avoid any spills). Allow dish to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
For step by step photos check out Kate's Blog here:
Cottage Pie
Check out the recipes from the group with these links:
- Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Beef Barley Soup from Kate at Kate's Kitchen
- Scrambled Egg Sandwich from Christiane at Taking on Magazines
- Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix from Debra at Eliot's Eats
- Ginger Snap Cookies from Lisa at Authentic Suburban Gourmet
- Scalloped Potato Cottage Pie from Ramona at Curry and Comfort
- Lemon Chicken Thighs from Janet at From Cupcakes to Caviar
- Christy from Culinary Diva
- Persimmon Syrup and Persimmon Smash Cocktail from Alice at A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
- Smoky Potato Corn and Poblano Chowder from Azmina at Lawyer Loves Lunch
- Apple Butter and Body Lotion from Kelli at Kelli's Kitchen
- Roasted Honey Rosemary Pecans from Kim at Liv Life
- Susan from Create Amazing Meals
- Best Ever Ginger Snaps from Aly at Cooking in Stilettos
- Brats and Kraut from Lea Ann at Cooking on the Ranch
- Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
- Pumpkin Scones from Anna at Anna Dishes
- Roasted and Stuffed Eggplant from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Swedish Dark Rye Bread from Wendy at A Day in the Life On a Farm
- Spelt Dinner Rolls from Jean at Lemons and Anchovies
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