When St. Patrick’s Day and Pi Day coincide a few days apart every year, the celebration is screaming for an Irish pie! Today we’re having Cottage Pie, a close cousin to Shepherd’s Pie. These two Irish dishes differ only in the meat used. Shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with ground lamb, as Cottage Pie is made with ground beef. We are not only celebrating Pi Day and an early St. Paddy’s, but also our granddaughter’s and her soul sister’s first trip around the sun! A joyous day it is!

My co-pirate shared an easy-peasie Shepherd’s Pie years ago, great for offshore voyages as it uses Tater-Tots instead of having to boil potatoes. Boiling potatoes on a rocking boat can be a real hazard.

Cottage Pie

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion chopped
4-5 button mushrooms, finely chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic minced
2 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon each dried parsley, rosemary, and thyme
Fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup Guinness (or red wine)
1 cup beef broth (or substitute 1 cup water with ~2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon Beef)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 12 oz bag of frozen peas and carrots

Heat up olive oil in a large pan. Add the chopped onion and mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes until cooked and soft. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté for an additional minute.

Add the ground beef and cook for 8-10 minutes or until beef is nicely browned. Add the flour, mixing well with the ingredients.

Add the Guinness and beef broth. I used Extra Stout today, but it might too bitter for most palettes. You can also substitute the beer with red wine. With limited icebox storage on a boat I prefer making my beef broth with water and Better Than Bouillon. Plus you can adjust the intensity of the broth. Stir until it thickens.

Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, and black pepper. Stir well to incorporate fully and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, until liquid is reduced. Then add the frozen peas and carrots and cook further until vegetable soften. Set aside while you prepare the mashed potato topping.

Potato topping for cottage pie

4 lbs of russet potatoes
1 pressed garlic clove
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Dubliner cheese
1 egg, beaten (optional)

The topping for Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s pie is basically plain mashed potatoes. So make your mashed potatoes any way you prefer. Or take a look at the following ingredients for a very flavorful twist to mashed potatoes, perfect for your St. Patrick’s Day dining.

Preheat oven to HOT, 400º if possible. Peel, quarter and boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash with 1 pressed clove of garlic. Adding the garlic when the potatoes are piping hot cooks the garlic a bit and takes the bite out of it. Add the butter and let it melt as you mash the potatoes.

Keep it Irish! Grate Dubliner cheese until you get about a cup. Add the milk, sour cream and cheese. Mash until smooth. I don’t have a potato masher on board since they never seem to fit in a galley drawer so I’ve always made do with a fork and meat tenderizer. But to finish off these lovely mashed potatoes I brought out the emulsifier which is smaller than a hand masher, but does require electricity.

I’ve seen some recipes that add an egg or two to the potato mixture. This help firm up the potatoes. My potato mixture seemed a bit runny for me today so I did add a beaten egg at the end once the mixture had cooled down.

Assemble the pie. In a 9×13 roasting pan, pour in the meat mixture. Then dollop on the mashed potatoes in a nice layer taking care to not mix them. Extend the potatoes to the edges of the dish to help prevent the meat sauce from bubbling up over the top too much.

Today I’m separating the Cottage Pie into two pies, one to eat tonight and the other for Pi Day celebration.

Now it’s ready for the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the dish 15-20 minutes in. If you want to brown the top, light your broiler and brown a bit. Take out of the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into.