This “spring” weather has been all over the map. We’ve had some rainy dreary days that call for comfort food. This. Is. Comfort. Colonial style cottage pie coming through my commonwealth roots. Switch the original with healthy Whole30 compliant ingredients and you have one happy cook. There is not a scrap left, the whole family inhales this and looks for more. I need to get bigger serving dishes! 
I love the bright veggies tucked in with the meat. Veggies that I almost always have on hand. The secret in this is the shallots, a secret ingredient until I was an adult?! Tell your kids about shallots, please. The creamy mash, magic coconut milk and nutritional yeast and the best mash topping! 
Something interesting I found out preparing this post. What’s the difference between cottage pie and shepherd’s pie? The meat…cottage is ground beef and shepherd’s is ground lamb.
- The filling
- 2 medium shallots thinly sliced
- 3 tablespooons ghee
- 1 pound grassfed beef
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup frozen peas
- The mash
- 4 cups frozen mash potatoes (I used Trader Joe's) or you can boil 4 cups of potatoes
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ cup coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- The filling
- Place ghee in the skillet and let it melt on medium heat
- Add shallots and allow to soften and become fragrant, about 3 minutes
- Add the ground beef and allow to brown turning and mixing for about 15 minutes.
- Ensure that the meat is not pink to be sure it is cooked through.
- Add the rosemary and tomato paste and stir to evenly combine.
- Add the carrots and peas and cover to cook for 8 mins or so or until the carrots are soft but still crunchy.
- The mash.
- Peel the potatoes and cook in simmering water for 20 minutes until soft when poked with a fork.
- If using frozen potatoes, add the ghee and coconut to the pan and stir through until combines well and is heated through and creamy.
- If using boiled potatoes, drain the sauce pan of the water, add the ghee and coconut milk and mash with a fork or masher until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the filling in a heat proof dish and spread evenly to cover the bottom. Add the mash on top and use a spatula to spread evenly over the top. Set the oven to broil on high for 5-10 minutes to brown the top. Watch closely to avoid burning the top.
This looks unbelievably comforting!! Love the addition of coconut milk too! That stuff is delicious and adds such a yummy richness 🙂
I like that you used ghee, that will improve the taste and smell. also filling with veggies makes it more delectable. I am going to give this one a try.
I have so many friends doing Whole 30 right now so I can’t wait to share this recipe with them! It looks like a great one!
This was a huge hug in my house! My 5 year old ate two bowls of it and repeatedly told me how good it was. My hubby and I very much enjoyed it too.
Ultimate comfort food! Love this so much. I’ve never made a cottage pie, but this is totally something I need to try 🙂
This looks like comfort food. Perfect for this weather. Love that you used Ghee. My kids would enjoy this very much. Saving for later.
This is perfect comfort food. Whether you call it Cottage or Shepherds pie it tastes fantastic. I would love to have that for dinner tonight — I’m putting the ingredients on my grocery list. Now, I don’t normally add peas to my pie – but I love the color it gives it. I”ll be adding them.
Can’t wait to try this…however be careful! because it isn’t 100% whole 30 compliant. The frozen trader joe’s mashed potatoes contain butter and peas aren’t allowed on whole 30 since they are a legume.