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4.7 from 9 votes

Cottage pie with Stilton Mash

A rich and delicious cottage pie made with beef brasing steak rather than mince. The Stilton mash topping is totally addictive!

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs 20 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 4 large servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British

Ingredients

  • 900 g | 2lb Red Tractor braising steak cut into small cubes
  • 6 tbsp Red Tractor plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
  • rapeseed canola oil for frying
  • 500 ml | 2 cups hot beef stock
  • 250 ml | 1 cup dark ale
  • 3 Red Tractor onions peeled and roughly chopped
  • 3 large garlic cloves peeled and sliced
  • 2 large Red Tractor carrots peeled and finely diced
  • 2 celery sticks finely diced
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp mild curry powder
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 7 large Red Tractor floury potatoes such as Maris Piper peeled and cubed
  • 125 ml | 1/2 cup Red Tractor whole milk or more, as needed
  • 50 g | 2 tbsp Red Tractor butter
  • 100 g | 3.5oz Red Tractor Stilton cheese crumbled
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • buttered peas and green beans to serve

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F).
  2. Put the flour into a large plate and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the beef cubes and toss until they are lightly coated in flour.
  3. Heat a generous glug of rapeseed oil in a large casserole dish (I used my Le Creuset). Add the beef, in batches if necessary, and brown the cubes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
  4. Add a splash of the stock to deglaze the casserole and scrape any sticky brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour any liquid from the pan in with the beef.
  5. Add more oil to the casserole and fry the onions over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
  6. Add the curry powder, cumin, garlic, carrots and celery and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
  7. Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, stock and ale.
  8. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise and the browned beef. Bring to the boil, cover the casserole and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours – checking after 1 hour to give the stew a little stir.
  9. Remove the casserole from the oven and transfer the stew to a large, deep, ovenproof dish to cool slightly. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise. Check the seasoning and sprinkle with the thyme.
  10. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Cover the pot and bring to the boil. Lower heat to a rolling simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
  11. Drain and return to the pot. Add the butter and milk and mash together until smooth. Add a splash more milk if the mash is too dry. Taste and season.
  12. Transfer the mash to a large piping bag and pipe over the stew. Sprinkle with the crumbled cheese.
  13. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and cook for about 25 minutes until the mash starts to colour a little and the middle is very hot.
  14. Leave the pie to cool for 10-15 minutes and serve with buttered peas and steamed green beans on the side.