Italian Cottage Pie

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
A pat of butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 celery sticks, strung and finely chopped
3 carrots, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 cup milk
1 cup white wine
About 30 ounces canned chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Bay leaves
Nutmeg
2 1/4 pounds potatoes, boiled and mashed with milk and lots of butter

Warm the oil and butter in a heavy cast iron pot, add the onion, celery and carrots with a sprinkling of salt, and saute gently untl they soften.  Add the garlic and continue cooking for another couple of minutes.  Add the beef and a little more salt, grind some black pepper over it, and stir until the meat has just lost its raw pink look.  Add a couple of bay leaves and the milk, and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the meat has absorbed a lot of the milk.  Add the nutmeg, then the wine, and let it simmer into the meat for 10 to 15 minutes before adding the tomatoes.  Cook at a bare minimum simmer for about 3 hours.  Correct the seasoning to taste.  Heat the oven to 400°F.

Put the ragu in a pie pan and spread on the potatoes.  Bake at 400°F for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn down to 350°F for a further 45 minutes until crusted brown and bubbling.

Serves 6.


From Tarts with Tops On by Tamasin Day-Lewis


Serve with Onion Gravy.