Cottage pie is a British favourite that’s been around for 250 years. It’s a frugal dish, developed by home-cooks as a way to use up previously-cooked meat and was traditionally topped with a UK staple: potatoes.
In this version, I’m being faithful to that heritage and using leftover beef (but, if you’d rather use raw ground beef/mince instead, I’ve got you covered). But I’m adding a twist; instead of finishing the dish with potatoes, I’m using rolled oats to make a cheesy biscuit topping.
Before wheat, oats were widely utilised in the United Kingdom – in many places being the only grain crop available. Hence this oatcake-topped cottage pie feels as if it honours traditional British food. Plus, it’s delicious!
Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Cottage Pie
Makes 4 generous servings. You will need a pie dish that is, ideally, 6cm deep. See my pictures below for the dishes I commonly use.
Prep time: 50 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients:
For the filling:
2-3 tablespoon fat (can be lard, tallow, butter or olive oil)
1 medium onion
1 stick of celery
1 large carrot
8/10 medium-sized mushrooms
300-400g cold, left over beef*
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato paste
17g (1/8th cup) fine oatmeal (or rolled oats pulsed into flour in a food processor)
300ml beef (or chicken) stock
salt and pepper, to taste
*You can substitute the cold, leftover beef for uncooked ground/minced beef. If doing so, use a little more; I suggest 400-500g raw weight.
For the topping:
300g rolled oats
3.5g salt
155g cheese (a mild or medium Cheddar works best)
60g lard, tallow or butter
135g water
Method:
Make the filling:
- Dice the onion and put it into a medium saucepan on a medium heat with the fat. Give it a stir, then, whilst its cooking, dice the celery and carrot. Add them to the saucepan too, stir well, adjust the heat if necessary and continue to cook until the onions are soft.
- Slice the mushrooms and add them to the vegetables in the pan. Leave to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes.
- Mince your leftover beef finely (you do not need a mincer to do this, just chopping it finely is good).
- Add the beef, concentrated tomato paste and oatmeal (or ground oats) to the cooking vegetables and stir well to distribute the oats.
- Add the stock and stir well. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the saucepan and leave it to cook, stirring every now and again, whilst you prepare the oatcakes.
Make the oatcakes for topping:
Preheat the oven to 180C/375F.
- Grate the cheese.
- Put the oats, salt and 85g of the cheese (reserving the other 70g) in a heat-proof bowl and stir to distribute the cheese.
- Add the fat and water to a lidded saucepan, gently heat the water until the fat is melted.
- Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and stir well.
- Bring the dough together into a ball and cover the top of the bowl with a plate.
- Prepare the oatcakes to top your pie. The number of oatcakes you make and the size of them will depend on the dish you use. If you want to be super-specific, it’ll help you to know that the total weight of the dough you are working with is around 570g. Here is what I do for two different dishes:
For a rectangular dish that is 8inches/20cm by 10.5inches/27cm, I make 12 oatcakes, just over 2 inches/5.5cm in diameter, 1.8cm/2/3 inch deep and weighing 47.5g each.
For an oval dish that is 11 inches/28.5cm by 8inches/19.5cm, I make 9 large and 2 small oatcakes. All of there are 2 inches/5.5cm in diameter and 1.8cm/2/3 inch deep. The large oatcakes are around 58g each and the small ones are 24g.
- Once each oatcake is made, put it gently to one side.
Assemble and bake the dish:
- Once all the oatcakes are ready, try the beef mixture and season to taste. Then turn off the heat and pour the beef and vegetable mix into the cooking dish.
- Arrange the oatcakes on top of the beef and finish by sprinkling on the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes (putting a baking tray/sheet under the dish if you think it might bubble over) until the topping is golden.
How to eat the Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Cottage Pie
Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Cottage Pie is great eaten hot from the oven. It’s easy to divide – the oatcakes give a natural serving size!
I like to serve with steamed or boiled greens and if we’re really hungry I’ll add another dish, such as my Tumeric Buttered Swede (Rutabaga)
How to store the Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Cottage Pie
This dish keeps really well in the fridge for a couple of days and leftovers can be reheated in the oven (I set it to 150C/300F for 20 minutes) before serving.
Variations on the Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Cottage Pie
- Remember you don’t have to use leftover meat. Swapping our for 400-500g of raw mince/ground beef works too.
- Use lamb instead to make this a Cheesy Oatcake-Topped Shepherd’s Pie!
- Mix in some pre-cooked diced or mince offal to add extra budget-conscious nutrition. I often add minced heart, replacing a quarter to a third of the meat.
- Add whatever vegetables are in season/you have in the fridge. Celery adds depth of flavour at an early stage; greens can be chopped finely and used instead of peas.
- Play with spices/herbs. Rosemary, thyme and oregano have often found their way into this dish in my kitchen!