Better than the original?

Sometimes people say the word "leftover" with a sneer. The connotations of the word definitely imply something less than and certainly not a thing to be desired.But I find that, in the kitchen, having food leftover challenges a cook's ingenuity and a clever cook can frequently make the leavings from the first meal look as good as or better than the original dish.  A case in point would be the brisket that I described smoking in a recent post.(Click here for the post on BBQ Brisket.)

A whole brisket feeds a lot of people one time or a few people a lot of times. One of the ways to re-imagine that meat is to use it to make that staple of British cooking, Cottage Pie. Elisabeth Luard offers an easy recipe in her cookbook, The Old World Kitchen.*

Cottage Pie

 

COTTAGE PIE

(serves 4 to 5)

1. 1 pound beef (leftover or minced fresh)
2. 1 large onion
3. 1 tablespoon meat drippings or lard
4. 1 tablespoon flour
5. 1 cup stock
6. Worcestershire sauce
7. parsley
8. Salt and Pepper
9. 2 pounds old potatoes
10. 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter
11. 1/2 cup milk

 

Put a pan of salted water on to boil for the potatoes.

Meanwhile, mince or chop the meat thoroughly. Peel and chop the onion. Put the drippings or lard to melt in a small pan. Add the onion and fry until golden. Stir in the flour and the meat if it is raw and cook until the meat takes on a little color. Stir in the meat now if it has been precooked. If you like, add a bit of the Worcestershire sauce.

Chop the parsley and stir a tablespoonful of it in the mixture. Cook until the gravy is quite thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a shallow ovenproof dish to cool. If you put hot potato on hot gravy, it will sink through the surface and the appearance of your pie will suffer.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into quarters and plunge them into the water as soon as it boils. Cook them until they are soft, which will take 20 to 25 minutes. Drain them immediately and shake them over the heat to dry. Mash well, beat in the butter and milk and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pile the mashed potatoes onto the cooled meat mixture, doming them over it. Dot with butter, and put in the oven to heat and gild the top in the oven for 20 minutes.

 

 *Mark Bittman has called this "the greatest cookbook you never heard of."