Cottage pie hearty, rich, easy-to-make comfort food

When making a casserole for a mom-to-be, the dish should be as hearty as it is rich and comforting. Being pregnant can make you hungry.

It also should include the recipient’s favorite ingredients, which in the case of my daughter-in-law, Sara, just happens to be peas. My son, meanwhile, is gluten-free, which means anything with even a speck of wheat is verboten. So when cooking for them recently, I decided to make a pea-filled, mashed potato-topped cottage pie as a happy compromise.

While the tasty meat pies are often associated with Irish cuisine, cottage pie is actually thought to have originated in Scotland sometime in the 18th century as an easy-to-make, frugal peasant food that made the most of leftover meat and whatever vegetables might be at hand. Originally topped with a pastry crust, the recipe changed to include a layer of baked potatoes once the starchy root vegetable was introduced as an affordable, edible crop in the late 1700s.

They soon became hugely popular in Northern England and Ireland, where they were known as shepherd’s pie and made with ground mutton or lamb instead of minced ground beef and beef gravy.

Over time, lamb was used less frequently and ground beef became the filling of choice, but the two names were used interchangeably.

Some versions put mashed potatoes on the bottom of the dish along with the top, or even on the sides of the pan to completely encase the meat. You also can make them with a crust of very thinly sliced potatoes.

Whether you use lamb or ground beef, no meat pie is complete without a tender mix of veggies. I used frozen peas and carrots, but you could also use beans, mushrooms, celery, lentils, tomato or any favorite vegetable. The casserole freezes beautifully once cooled and wrapped in foil or plastic.

Cottage Pie

Makes 8 servings. Adapted from epicurious.com

For filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

16-ounce bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

1 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dry rosemary, crumbled

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

For mashed potato topping:

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

Kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare filling: In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add onion, garlic, peas and carrots and meat. Cook until browned, 8-10 minutes.

Drain the fat and add broth, tomato paste and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a 11/2 -quart baking dish; set aside.

Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes. Bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain.

Mash potatoes with butter, milk and salt. Spread potatoes over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork.

Bake until golden, 30-35 minutes.

Serve hot.