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Graveyard Cottage Pie

Graveyard Cottage Pie

A rich beef cottage pie with a golden mashed-potato topping, shaped into little ghosts and finished with pastry gravestones for a brilliant Halloween supper.

75 mins total for first methodServes 6Oven
Ingredients ↓Method ↓

Ingredients

Method

30 mins prep45 mins cook75 mins total

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 8 minutes until softened.

  2. Add the beef and cook for 6–8 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.

  3. Pour in the beef stock, then add the Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Simmer for 20 minutes until thick, stirring in the peas for the final 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

  4. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water for 15–18 minutes until tender. Drain well, mash with the butter and milk, and season to taste.

  5. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Spoon the beef filling into a large baking dish and cover with the mash. Shape a few peaks into ghostly faces, if you like.

  6. Cut a few gravestone shapes from the shortcrust pastry and bake them on a lined tray for 12–15 minutes until golden. Set aside.

  7. Bake the cottage pie for 25 minutes until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling. Rest for 5 minutes, then stand the pastry gravestones in the mash before serving.

Notes

Make the filling and mash ahead, then assemble and chill until ready to bake. Add the pastry gravestones shortly before serving so they stay crisp.
About this recipe

This comforting cottage pie turns a family favourite into a playful Halloween centrepiece. Rich beef mince is cooked with onion, carrot, celery and peas in a savoury gravy, then covered with buttery mashed potato.

Pipe or spoon the mash into little ghosts and add crisp pastry gravestones just before serving. It is warming, make-ahead friendly and easy to adapt for a family table.

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