Poor Man's Cottage Pie (Slow Cooker)

Source video by Backyard Chef on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Rick's pitch is right there in the title: this is cottage pie on a budget. He uses just 350 g of beef mince (even frozen, straight from the freezer), frozen mixed veg or peas, gravy powder from the cupboard, and a regular bag of potatoes. The flavour story is short and honest: thyme, pepper, a tablespoon of tomato puree, a slug of Worcester sauce and gravy. The slow cooker version preserves the hob browning, then moves the lot to the pot so the gravy can deepen and the veg soften without watching. Mash, fork, light cheddar, 25 to 30 minutes in a hot oven.

Ingredients

• neutral cooking oil (rice bran or sunflower)
• 1 onionbrown onion, diced
• 350 gbeef mince
• dried thyme
• black pepper
• 1 tbspplain flour
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsptomato puree
• gravy mix (powder), made up per packet instructions to around 300 ml
• frozen mixed vegetables (peas and carrots) (add late)

• potatoes, peeled, halved or cubed
• unsalted butter
• milk
• salt and pepper

• mature cheddar, grated (add late)

Method

1. Set the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil for the mash. Simmer until fork-tender, around 20-25 minutes.

   ~25 min

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and pepper and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes until softening but not coloured.

   ~5 min

3. Add the beef mince. Break it up in the pan and brown for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the water has gone and the meat is taking colour.

   ~7 min

4. Stir in the dried thyme and a good crack of pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the mince and cook it out for a minute, stirring.

   ~2 min

5. Add the tomato puree and the Worcestershire sauce. Stir hard and let everything caramelise for 30 seconds.

   ~1 min

6. Pour in the gravy mix (made up with hot water) and stir to lift any catching from the bottom of the pan.

   ~1 min

7. Tip everything into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours.

   ~240 min

8. In the last 30 minutes, stir in the frozen mixed vegetables. Replace the lid.

   ~30 min

9. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan, and mash with the butter, milk, salt and pepper to your preferred consistency.

   ~5 min

10. Tip the filling into a 20x20 cm ovenproof dish. Spoon the mash over, starting at the edges and working in. Fork the surface for crispy peaks.

    ~5 min

11. Scatter a little grated cheddar over the top. Bake at 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6 for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and bubbling at the edges.

    ~28 min

12. Rest 5 minutes before serving with buttered cabbage or broccoli, or just on its own.

    ~5 min

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