Cottage Pie – Great Taste in the Guise of Leftovers

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Cottage Pie is an FFA favorite and a frequently occurring menu item in British homes. It is part of the regular rotation of meals at our house. Cottage Pie is one of those simple starter recipes, and of course, every cook begins somewhere. My cooking life begins at Finlaystone Estate in 1979. That is the year I discover Cottage Pie and many other great British recipes.

Finlaystone Food Style

On many Sundays at Finlaystone Estate, just south of Glasgow, Scotland, Lady M instructs the “Cooky” to prepare a large roast for the members of the MacMillan clan. They’ll be gathering that day in the big house’s dining room after church for lunch. No sooner than five minutes before the clock strikes noon, Cooky loads up the wooden trolley in the kitchen. On the menu is steaming roast, hot vegetables, ice cream and strawberries from the summer fields. Also on the trolley is coffee and a heavy cylinder of English cheddar cheese to pass at the meal’s end. No more, no less.

Antique Trolleys, Medieval Walls, New Recipes

At this point, Cooky pushes the trolley from the main kitchen, along a dark hallway and down a long strip of ancient carpet. Inevitably there is a fellow live-in staffer bouncing happily at her side as meals are a time for rest from chores and a great social focus four times a day. The trolley driver pulls on the brass doorknob to open the dining room door. Then with help she wrangles the two-story wooden trolley past the heavily hinged, three-foot-deep doors. These doors threaten to snap closed on the trolley as it passes into the dining room, as if they’re hungry too in this stone house that was built in the 15th century. As Lady M disapproves of anyone being late, all are sitting or quickly arriving as the trolley comes rumbling in with lunch. In the event that someone is late arriving, they hear about it.

Places Set, Rain Sets In, Lunch Begins

Then, looking out of the large windows just past the buffet table and over the manicured back lawn, it is inevitably raining each summer day. Although noontime rain showers are the norm, the moisture is what keeps Scotland’s gardens blooming. The flowers out back include ancient tunnels of rhododendrons and acres of daffodils.

Next we all gather around the huge table with a hot buffet waiting to the side. In the center of the table that can accommodate 20, stands sentinel the shiny silver Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders bagpiper. This is a parting gift to war hero General Sir Gordon from his regiment long ago but it looks like new as housekeeper Margaret keeps it polished along with the silverware set on the table.

The dining room is always perfectly set in advance for each meal by her. Polished silverware with ivory handles, a placemat, a beautiful China plate, matching coffee cup and glass for water decorate each place setting. We are all expected to carry a handkerchief to use as a napkin, or “serviette,” as they are referred to at Finlaystone. (Lady M thoughtfully embroiders each of the staff several of these after dinner in the drawing room by the fire so that we have something to wipe our mouths with at meals.)

Single File to the Buffet Table

Then we get up in groups of two or three to pass the buffet and load up our plates with hot, homemade food. We sit together and eat, catching up and discussing any news. Cullian, Storm and Zephyr, the family’s three Labrador Retrievers, lie dozing under the table. There is plenty of room and food for everyone. The rain pours down outside but soon the the sun comes out, inviting swifts to plunge and dive for their lunch: insects rising from the back lawn. This is entertainment for my side of the table that faces the grand old windows that have stared out onto the lawn for centuries.

Washing Up and Meal Planning

Afterwards, the staffers fill the trolley with platters of leftover food and dirty China and push it to just outside the dining room doors to the second kitchen. There we chatter and rinse the China and put it in the dishwasher.

Next, the rest of the dishes are trundled down the hallway to the kitchen and scullery and there are invariably leftovers. Nothing goes to waste at Finlaystone and the solution for our next lunch is often the creation of Cottage Pie. This means grinding the beef, adding some vegetables, gravy and topping it with mashed potatoes. Many actually prefer the delicious Cottage Pie over the initial roast itself. And one of them is me.

FFA’s Cottage Pie

Here is FFA’s recipe for this simple, easy-to-build, delicious pie that allows the leftover roast to keep on giving. Or, like I’ve done here, you can skip the roast and just brown a pound of ground beef and half a pound of ground pork to achieve a similar result. Cottage Pie becomes Shepherd’s Pie when it’s made with ground lamb–another delicious variant you can make quickly for supper.

Vegetarian? Here is another savory dinpie from FFA to inspire your palate:

Cauliflower Cake with Turmeric Parmesan and Pesto

And here is a delicious recipe for Spanakopita Pie from Bon Apetit