Adventures In Etymology

Why is there no ham in hamburgers?  Is shepherd’s pie made of actual shepherd?  These are the questions that plague me in the sleepless dark hours of the night.  So, I did some research.

Ahem.

The most widely held opinion of the etymology of hamburger as a name for ground beef is that it originates from Hamburg, Germany, where 19th century sailors brought back the idea of shredded raw beef from their sojourns in Russia, where they’d been introduced to steak tartare.  As etymology stories go, I don’t really think it’s that interesting, but now you know.

As for shepherd’s pie, according to Wikipedia in earlier ages, shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, and hachis Parmentier (if you want to get all fancy and French about it) were all interchangeable names for a meal of minced meat topped with potato.  In more modern times, most agree that shepherd’s pie should be made with lamb, while cottage pie is made with beef.  I don’t know what decisions the French have made about their version of meat pie.

The whole idea of shepherd’s pie sounds delicious to me, except for one thing:  I hate lamb.  It tastes like the meat is going off.  I get queasy just eating it.  But cottage pie?  Sounds like perfection!  Over the years, I’ve tried many versions in many different restaurants and pubs but almost always been very disappointed.  There’s always either something missing or something in the pie that I don’t think should be in there.  Green beans?  Really?  Green beans are meant to be eaten by themselves…definitely not IN things like pies and salads and such.  That’s just wrong.

But the good news is, my mother and I figured out how to make the perfect cottage pie.  Basically, you start with the meat, add a few savory ingredients, and include whatever vegetables you like, then top with mashed potatoes.  But we both struggled with the pie being too bland, and adding salt after the fact just isn’t the same as a perfectly seasoned dish.  What my mother eventually figured out is that you have to season the individual parts of the pie before you combine everything.  So when you’re browning the meat?  Salt and pepper to taste.  The vegetables?  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mashing the potatoes?  Yep, salt and pepper to taste.  Then when everything is assembled, the combination is savory perfection!

A word about the vegetables…my recipe has MY choice of vegetables but you can substitute anything you like.  The pie will be better if the vegetables were fresh or frozen, rather than canned, but you have leeway.  To make my pie really quick and easy, I sometimes use a bag of frozen chopped peppers and onions, to save on chopping time.  For the garlic, I like to add a heaping tablespoon of the jarred minced garlic.  The flavor is not quite as strong as raw garlic, so you need more for the same effect.  And for the potatoes, I’m not above using a bag of instant potatoes, but I really like baby red or gold potatoes, steamed in the microwave, and then mashed with the skins still on.  I think the delicate skins on small potatoes really add to the richness of the potato flavor.

Here’s the recipe…enjoy!

Cottage Pie

Click here for printable PDF of recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 lb potatoes for mashing

1 lb lean ground beef

4 Portabello mushroom caps, chopped into 3/4" pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 each green and red peppers, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 Tbsp Worcerstershire sauce

1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth

4 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

olive oil

salt

pepper

DIRECTIONS

Peel potatoes, if desired, then chop potatoes into small pieces, so they cook quickly. Place in a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender enough to mash.

Prep the rest of the dish while potatoes are cooking. In a large sauté pan, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil until tender, and season to taste with salt. Remove mushrooms to a plate and do the same with the onions and pepper, adding the garlic in the last minute or so to avoid burning. Transfer the onion/pepper/garlic mixture to the plate with the mushrooms.

Brown the ground beef in the pan until no pink remains, then drain off the fat. Season with salt to taste. Then return the vegetables to the pan, and add the Worcestershire sauce and the beef broth. Simmer for at least 10 minutes, adding more broth if necessary to keep the mixture from drying out.

While the meat mixture is simmering, drain the cooked potatoes and place into a bowl with the butter and cream, and mash together. Season with salt to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray a 8x11" cooking dish with cooking spray. Taste the meat mixture once more, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Place meat mixture into the cooking dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake 20-30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the potatoes are a little browned on the parts that stick up. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, can sprinkle a little grated Parmesan over the potatoes, if desired.