When I wrote up this week's menu plan, I included a mention of Mashed Potato Pie, a recipe that I had found in Leanne Ely's cookery book, Saving Dinner. This kid-friendly recipe seemed to appeal to a lot of you, so here it is, as promised. We liked it but didn't love it, so I think next time, I'd add a jar of pasta sauce or just a tin of tomatoes to the meaty base, to add extra flavour and moisture. The original recipe used frozen hash browns but I had a pack of potato waffles in the freezer, which worked just fine. You could also use mashed potato, but that sounded too much like regular cottage pie to us !
Cheesy Waffle-Topped "Cottage Pie"
ingredients :
750g mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 grated carrots
salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning
1 cup (I just added without measuring) breadcrumbs
1 egg
(optional : 1 can of chopped tomatoes or 1 jar of pasta sauce)
8 potato waffles/hash browns
a couple of handfuls of grated cheese
Preheat the oven to 180°. Put the mince in an ovenproof dish - I used a roasting tin - and use a fork to squish it out nice and flat.
Add the other ingredients : onion, grated carrots, salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, breadcrumbs, egg (and, if using, chopped tomatoes or pasta sauce).
Use your hands or a fork to mix it all together. Then press it all out to fully cover the base and sides of the tin, like a pie crust. (Mine shrank during cooking so it was a bit of a waste of time, but never mind !) Depending on the cooking time of your waffles/hash browns, you may want to put them in straight away (see below).
The potato waffles only needed ten minutes to cook, so I put the meat part in the oven for about 20 minutes until it looked pretty much cooked through, then added the waffles on top for the last ten minutes. (I poured off all the excess fat at this point, but the final dish was a bit dry, so that may not be a good idea.)
Sprinkle over the grated cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella) then pop back in the oven to cook the waffles.
Where did all the cheese go?! Well, it's still there, but it all melted and poured through the holes in the waffles ! Next time, I think I'd put the cheese underneath.
Serve with salad and tomatoes, or maybe baked beans if your kids don't like the green stuff !
It's a great, quick and simple dish for a busy night when you've just got in from work and are too tired to cook something complicated. I also think it's one that kids could make on their own, or at least help with the mixing stage !
Looks good my daughter won't eat potatoes but will eat waffles lol so this could work
ReplyDeleteAha, that would work then !!
DeleteThis is such a genius idea. I am going to have to try it. I think my girls will love it x
ReplyDeleteHope they love it - I think it's got a lot of potential, it just needs tweaking a bit :)
DeleteI love shepherd's pie but don't like the idea of waffles on top, although cheese on top of traditional shepherd's pie, we als oadd carrots but par boil and slice them so grated is a great idea for next time xx
ReplyDeleteI think you need to have them as completely different recipes. Cottage pie (I add carrots, don't parboil them though, onions, mushrooms, sometimes red/green peppers or swede/parsnips, depends on what's in the fridge !) is great when you have time, but this is quicker and gives different flavours.
DeleteInteresting idea to add the waffles instead of potatoes,looks like it worked really well. I would definitely add tomatoes I think that would add m,ore flavour
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely novelty idea to top up the mince with potato waffles. It might actually win over my younger one. And agree with you on tomatoes, that would work well with mince.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea. Will save so much time too & potato waffles are a firm favourite in our family
ReplyDeleteIt's great when you want something quick and simple :)
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