Cottage Pie Recipe – Shepherd’s Pie: A Family Tradition with a Modern Twist
A Recipe Rooted in Family
This cottage pie recipe – Shepherds Pie comes straight from my grandmother’s kitchen. I remember enjoying it as a child during Christmases on my grandparents’ farm near East London in the Eastern Cape. My mother loved it so much that she asked for the recipe—and my gran typed it out on an old-fashioned typewriter. That’s dedication!
Inspiration Behind the Dish
My gran called it Shepherd’s Pie, but to me, that name always suggested lamb, which I’ve never used. Her original version even included bitters, though I’ve never added that ingredient. Over time, I’ve made a few changes, but the taste remains just as comforting as I remember.
Adapting for Today
To make this recipe gluten-free, I swapped the flour for cornstarch. You can use beef, pork, or lamb for the filling—each brings its own flavor. This flexibility makes it a go-to dish for any occasion.
Versatility You’ll Love
The minced meat filling isn’t just for cottage pie. I often use it for pancakes, toasted sandwiches, and even vetkoek. It’s a great way to stretch one recipe into multiple meals.
Convenience Tips
The mince freezes beautifully, making it perfect for meal prep. Mashed potatoes, however, don’t freeze well—they tend to become watery. If you need a freezer-friendly option, instant mash works surprisingly well. It’s not quite the same, but I enjoy it, and it freezes much better.
Ideas, Advice and Suggestions
Potatoes – White potatoes that are recommended for mashing are preferable to avoid a grainy texture. Always mash with a potato masher, a hand mixer, or a ricer, my favorite. Never puree white potatoes because they turn into gloop.
IMPORTANT: This applies only to Sweet Potatoes. I also don’t normally make this recipe with sweet potatoes, which do puree beautifully by the way, but if you like the taste of sweet potatoes, it will work. I normally boil sweet potatoes in their skins and then when they’re cool enough to handle, peel and puree them in the food processor.
Beef Mince – I’ve only prepared this with beef mince. I usually opt for lean mince, but I avoid the ultra-lean variety because it often requires adding extra oil during frying.
Onion – Yellow or Brown onions work well
Water and /or White Wine -I typically use a dry white wine; I have tried red wine, but the outcome was not satisfactory.
Bisto – This is the original gravy powder, Bisto have other products but they dont taste the same to me. This is one of those products not labeled as gluten-free, yet the ingredients listed on the box do not mention gluten. This applies only to the original Bisto, as all the newer versions contain gluten.
Flour or Corn Starch -Cornstarch is effective, but if gluten isn’t a concern, then flour is also acceptable.
Tabasco -I can detect even a few drops, but if your tolerance is higher, you might need to add more.
Cottage Pie
Course: DinnerCuisine: South African, ClassicDifficulty: Simple4
servings20
minutes35
minutes2030
kcal55
minutesThis is my grandmother’s Shepherd’s Pie recipe (I’m aware it’s not traditional Shepherd’s Pie as it doesn’t contain lamb), modified with a few tweaks to make it gluten-free and to omit ingredients I don’t use. The minced meat component has evolved into a versatile addition to other dishes.
Ingredients
4 Large Potatoes
500g beef mince
1 large onion
1 cup of water for gravy (or ½ cup water and ½ cup white wine)
2 teaspoons original Bisto gravy powder
2 teaspoons flour, cornflour or cornstarch
Few drops of Tabasco sauce
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions
- Peel potatoes and put them on to boil, steam, or cook in a pressure cooker. Remember to add salt
- Dice the onion, heat a small amount of fat or oil, and fry the onion until golden brown.
- Remove from the pot and brown the mince in the same pot. . Depending on how lean the mince is, you may need to add more oil or fat.
- When it has browned, add the wine if using and let it reduce almost completely before going to the next step
- Pre-heat oven to 150°C to 160°C (Medium)
- Remove mince and make gravy by mixing Bisto and flour with a little cold water in a jug. Add the Tabasco and the salt and mix in the rest of the water. Add extra water if it looks too dry it needs to be quite wet at this point.
- Mix in the mince and onions. Bring it up to the boil and leave on low heat.
- When potatoes are cooked, mash first with butter then add some milk until they are fairly soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Grease pyrex dish and put meat mixture in. Fork the potatoes over the top and bake for about ½ to ¾ hour.
Notes
- The original recipe calls for Angostura Bitters and Tabasco Sauce, but if you’re out of Tabasco, you can substitute it with some red or black pepper.
- If you’re making savoury mince, cook on medium heat for 25 minutes on the stove top from step 7
Origin of the Recipe
This recipe comes from my grandmother. She lived in East London, South Africa, where we spent many of my childhood Christmases.
Leave a Reply