individual cottage pies with cheese crust

by Leah Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 200g shortcrust pastry
  • ½ cup finely-grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 brown onion, finely diced
  • 2 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g beef mince
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 400g can diced tomatoes
  • sea salt flakes and freshly-ground white pepper
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • ½ cup cream
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • ½ cup grated Gouda cheese

Instructions

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Makes: 24

1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the shortcrust pastry to 3mm thick, scatter with
Parmesan, fold over to enclose, then roll out again to 3mm thick. Cut twenty-four 7cm
circles and line into mini pie dishes. Line with foil and baking weights, then bake for 25
minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool.
2 Sauté the onion, celery and garlic in extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan over a moderate
heat for 5 minutes, add the mince and cook until browned. Mix in the stock and tomatoes,
then simmer gently for 45 minutes, until thickened. Season with salt.
3 Steam the potatoes until tender, then press through a ricer. Boil the cream and butter in
a small saucepan, stir into the potatoes, then season with salt and pepper.
4 Fill the pastry shells with beef mixture, top with potato and Gouda, then bake for 15
minutes, until the cheese begins to brown.