Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie

When it comes to cottage pie and shepherd's pie, I'm pretty much a girl who can't say no.  It's not like I don't have multiple recipes for various variations of this recipe.  And during the course of collecting all of these recipes and blogging about them incessantly, I have learned the difference between shepherd's pie (lamb) and cottage pie (beef).  I've made it with and without peas, with sliced potatoes and mashed potatoes.  You'd think I'd be over it by now.

But no.  I ran into this recipe for a cheddar-topped version, and that was all the excuse I needed to put it back on the menu for the one millionth time.  It was a new recipe!  It included cheese!  I had no choice!

So here's what we've got.  The base is a mixture of carrots, celery, onion, thyme, tomato paste and beef.  And since I have learned the correct terminology, I know that this means that what I am making is cottage pie.  The topping is made of mashed potatoes (and I cribbed this recipe from the completely wonderful, always reliable mashed potato recipe from The Pioneer Woman site.  Yukon gold potatoes, cream cheese...you pretty much can't go wrong.)  You spread this glorious mashed potato wonderfulness over the beef mixtures, sprinkle some cheese on top, and you get this:

Delicious, comforting, cheesy cottage pie.  I have no idea why it is called cottage pie, but since it is, and since it includes a good-sized amount of Vermont cheddar cheese, it seems like a good enough reason to show you the closest picture I have to a cottage, which is our beloved Vermont cabin.



So, the next time you want a completely soothing and wonderful comfort food, or want to make something with "cottage" in the title, or (like me) just can't resist recipes that include mashed potatoes...here's your recipe.

Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• • 4 cups mashed potatoes (either store-bought or homemade.  I like The Pioneer Woman's recipe)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
  • 6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
  • 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 pounds ground beef chuck
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)

1. Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.
2. Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Mix one cup of cheese into mashed potatoes.  Drop dollops of mashed potatoes over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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