WORLDFOODS International Fusion Recipe Swap Challenge: The Beesley Buzz's Cottage Pie Recipe

Hi everyone, I am most delighted to have Rebecca Beesley of The Beesley Buzz guest posting on my blog today as part of the WORLDFOODS International Fusion Recipe Swap Challenge. Do hop over to her fantastic blog and show her some love xoxo.

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Rebecca is a mum of three and blogs about family life over at The Beesley Buzz.  The whole family enjoys getting involved in blogging. The blog was started whilst the children were being home-schooled as a way of capturing their memories and adventures. Even though J and D are back at school now, blogging has been a way to keep a record of favourite recipes, holiday memories, book reviews and other aspects of family life.

Recipe:
WORLDFOODS-inspired Cottage Pie

I’m delighted to be here guest posting today. I was asked by WORLDFOODS to pick a classic British dish and give it a bit of a twist using some products from the WORLDFOODS range. And what can be more classic than a Cottage Pie. The term cottage pie is thought to have been used since the 1700s ‘when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor’ (Wikipedia). The term cottage being a modest dwelling for rural workers.

Nowadays it is used fairly interchangeably with the term ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ (although Shepherd’s pie technically should be made with lamb and Cottage pie with beef). You can use leftover meat, for example from a Roast Dinner (another classic British meal), or use can use minced (ground) beef for this dish.

In this recipe we’ve given the classic Cottage Pie a WORLDFOODS inspired twist by using Thai Masaman Curry Paste in the meat part of the dish and the potato topping has the beautifully warming flavour of the Thai Yellow Curry Paste running through it.


Ingredients:
1kg potatoes
400g pack of minced beef (ground beef)
1 onion
1 courgette / zucchini
2-3 carrots
100ml beef stock (you can use 1 stock cube dissolved in boiled water for this)
1 teaspoon cornflour dissolved in a little boiled water
A little groundnut or rapeseed oil for frying
25g butter
A splash of milk
3 tablespoons WORLDFOODS Thai Masaman Curry Paste
2 tablespoons WORLDFOODS Thai Yellow Curry Paste
250g green beans to serve alongside

Method:

1. Peel, chop and fry the onion in a little oil until softened and browned a little.

2. Add the ground beef / minced beef and fry until browned.

3. Peel and finely chop the carrots and courgettes/zucchini. Add this to the pan and continue to fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Add in 3 tablespoons of WORLDFOODS Thai Masaman Curry paste and stir to coat all the beef and vegetables.

5. Dissolve a beef stock cube in 100ml boiling water, along with a teaspoon of cornflour and pour this in. Stir. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer. If the mixture starts to stick to the pan, then add a splash more boiled water.

6. At this stage, preheat the oven to 200C. Then prepare the potatoes.

7. I find it easier to wash and boil the potatoes with the skin on and then peel them with my fingers once they are boiled. If you find it easier to peel with a peeler and then boil them, then do it that way. It is just a matter of preference.

8. Once the potatoes are boiled (and peeled), using a potato masher, mash them with the butter and milk. Add in 2 tablespoons of WORLDFOODS Thai Yellow Curry Paste and continue to mash. The mash will start to look a beautiful yellow colour.

9. Pour your meat mixture into a large ovenproof dish. Then top with the mashed potato. You can run a fork over the top of the mash to help it spread out evenly and give a patterned effect.

10. Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 200C until golden brown on top.

11. Boil or steam your green beans and serve alongside your WORLDFOODS Cottage Pie.

Variations:

You can double up the quantities to make two cottage pies and freeze one for another day.

If the Thai Yellow Curry paste proves too hot (it is medium heat depicted by two chillies on the jar packaging) then just use a little less. Like things hotter, add a little more.

If you prefer to use Lamb mince (ground lamb), then make a Shepherd Pie instead. It is exactly the same but uses lamb meat instead of beef.

Have some leftover meat to use up? Throw it into a Cottage Pie. The perfect way to use up leftovers.

For the potato topping, you could also try Carrot and Potato mash or Sweet Potato mash instead of regular potatoes. You can also add some grated cheese on top if you like.

About WORLDFOODS:
WORLDFOODS is a range of ready-made sauces that are 100% fresh, natural and authentic, with no unnecessary additives and no GM (genetic modified) ingredients. WORLDFOODS sauces combine quality ingredients to help you create your favourite Asian dishes at home, quickly and easily. Each bottle of sauce is designed with convenience in mind so you can enjoy the wonderful flavours of authentic Asian food without having to make everything from scratch. You can rest in the knowledge that we have done the groundwork, gathering oriental herbs and spices and authentic ingredients and preparing them for you. With WORLDFOODS sauces, you can be sure that you are getting only the very best for your health. Every bottle is made with the freshest and highest quality ingredients. All our sauces are 100% natural, which makes us the ideal choice if you are health-conscious and a gourmet at heart. Vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs will be pleased to know that our products are specially made to meet your needs too.

WORLDFOODS sauces are available worldwide, with a different selection available in each country. To find out the selection of sauces available in your country along with stockist details please visit: http://www.worldfoods.com.my/wf/where_to_buy/index.php


Thank you for this fantastic recipe, Rebecca! xoxo

I am also guest posting over at her blog today, so check out what Malaysian dish I have decided to showcase to her readers.