Beef bourguignon cottage pie

Beef bourguignon cottage pie

A hearty meal for all the family, by Gary Rhodes. You can prepare it up to a month in advance

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 - 55 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs - 2 hrs 45 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. (Up to a month ahead) heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon lardons over a high heat for several mins until well coloured. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Season the beef, then fry in the fat left in the pan. Once coloured, add all the remaining ingredients for the beef, except the cornfl our and bacon, and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for a further 2-2½ hrs or until the beef is tender.
  2. Once cooked, tip everything into a colander set over another pan so you can catch the sauce. Tip the contents of the colander into a large pie dish, about 28cm x 23cm x 5cm. Re-boil the sauce and check for seasoning. Thicken with the loosened cornfl our, adding a little at a time and stirring until you have the desired coating consistency. Spoon enough sauce over the beef to barely cover and loosen it, then stir. Remaining sauce can be frozen, ready to re-heat and offer separately on the day.
  3. While the beef is cooling, make the mash. Boil the potatoes until tender, 15-20 mins, depending on size. Drain off the water and replace the lid. Shake the pan to break up the boiled potatoes. Add butter and milk a little at a time while mashing. Season.
  4. Spoon and spread the mashed potatoes on top of the cooled beef. Once covered, the mash can be marked with a spoon, palette knife or fork for a more interesting fi nish (see Gary's tip, left). When cold, the cottage pie is ready to cover and freeze.
  5. The day before serving, transfer the pie to the fridge to defrost overnight. (Or reheat from frozen on the day, see below.)
  6. On the day, reheat the pie. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. If thawed, bake for 50 mins-1 hr, or until heated through, then increase heat to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for the fi nal 10 mins for a golden brown topping. If cooking from frozen, cover with foil, then bake for 1¼ hrs; remove foil and bake uncovered for 1¼ hrs more, then increase heat as above for the last 10 mins.
Try

Serving with...

Just trim some French beans, then boil for several minutes in plenty of salted water, leaving a slight crisp bite before draining, seasoning and tossing in butter.

653 kcalories, protein 44.0g, carbohydrate 36.0g, fat 30.0 g, saturated fat 14.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 3.0g, salt 2.26 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • Binder photo Yorkshire Bex

    24 October 2009

    Yorkshire Bex rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I rarely cook meat at home but had some carnivorous family members coming round for dinner so made this the day before to re-heat on the evening. It was very tasty and all my guests were impressed (some even took leftovers home with them).

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  • Binder photo Brian Livesey

    27 October 2009

    Brian Livesey rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo pinkhebe

    16 November 2009

    pinkhebe rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Melissa74

    23 November 2009

    Melissa74 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Joy

    08 January 2010

    Joy rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Serena

    09 January 2010

    Serena rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • Binder photo clarel

    26 April 2010

    clarel rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I'm really surprised at reading everyone elses comments as I followed the recipe exactly and the meat had absolutely no flavour. very disappointing after that effort!

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  • Binder photo mikesamuels

    11 May 2010

    mikesamuels commented on this recipe

    just getting started; so do I mix the bacon with the beef after fryin please?

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  • Binder photo ajshanks

    28 July 2010

    ajshanks commented on this recipe

    Can not wait to try this one!

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  • Binder photo Mel1983

    12 October 2010

    Mel1983 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Very good, halved everything to make a dinner for two and also allowed for a good sized lunch the following day! had to make an additional amount of sauce/gravy because there didn't seem to be enough! was very tasty though and will make again!!!

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  • Binder photo alison

    28 October 2010

    alison rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    husband, daughter and myself ranked this as the best meal cooked in a long while!! very tasty!

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  • Binder photo Anna

    04 January 2011

    Anna rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Was actually looking for a bourguignon recipe rather than a pie one, so just used this without the topping. Served with green beans and roast potatoes. It was amaaaazing!

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  • Binder photo bengal-mad

    15 February 2011

    bengal-mad rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is soooo good! Sometimes I put it in a pie dish with a puff pastry top and other times I serve it from the casserole pot with horseradish mash!

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  • Binder photo Joannie

    16 February 2011

    Joannie rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo lawrj001

    13 March 2011

    lawrj001 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this for the other half as I don't like beef and just served it as the beef bouguignon without the mash topping i bulked it out a little bit by adding some suede and carrots during the sautee process. I thought that the gravy/juice was amazing but as a stew by itself my OH found it very rich and couldnt believe the amount of wine added to the recipe. I would make againbut i would braise the meat for even longer as it seemed little on the tough side.

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  • Binder photo Mairi

    15 May 2011

    Mairi rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Chris1976x

    23 May 2011

    Chris1976x rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have to say this is one of my favourate dishes. I normally thicken it up more than is suggested, I have made this several times in large batch cooks, I have not tried it out on anyone else as my wife is veggie. But for me its great, I have it in jackets, or withan easy ready made pastry topping and yes with mash sometimes. Anyone looking at this dish and wondering if you should cook it or not then I would advise you do. Its easy, tasty and versatile.

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  • Binder photo di

    16 June 2011

    di commented on this recipe

    I cooked this dish for friends who ate the lot!! I didn't make it as a pie, but served mash seperately with green beans. I also thickened it more than recipe suggests. Will be making again.

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  • Binder photo di

    16 June 2011

    di rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    forgot the stars!! Five without doubt

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  • Binder photo samantha

    13 July 2011

    samantha rated this recipe

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 - 55 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs - 2 hrs 45 mins

Freezable

Rich comforting main course

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • 200g pack bacon lardons
  • 900g braising steaks , cut into 3cm chunks
  • 225g button mushrooms
  • 225g button onions or small shallots , peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 600ml red wine
  • 400g can beef consommé (or use 400ml/14floz beef stock)
  • 1-2 tbsp cornflour , loosened with 1-2 tbsp red wine or water

FOR THE MASHED POTATOES

  • 1kg medium, floury potatoes , preferably Maris Piper or Desirée, quartered
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 100ml milk
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653 kcalories, protein 44.0g, carbohydrate 36.0g, fat 30.0 g, saturated fat 14.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 3.0g, salt 2.26 g

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