Traditional British meatloaf

Without getting into controversy about whether the UK eats well or badly, whether its cuisine is a birria, whether or not they have traditional dishes, etc, certain recipes must be given the value they deserve and stigmas aside. . One of those recipes is, as you can imagine, the traditional British meatloaf or what they call “meat pie” in those lands.

When the meat used for its preparation is veal, then this meatloaf is called cottage pie, but when lamb meat is used it is called shepherd’s pie . With any of the meats it is delicious, but it is easier for us to find minced beef than lamb, and this is the meat that we have used to make it.

Traditional British meatloaf is an excellent single dish and one of the most comforting meals we can make. With quality ingredients, little effort and some pampering, we get a great platter consisting of a meat stew with vegetables (among which you can use peas, celery, leek, etc.) and mashed potatoes. So simple, but complete, is this dish.

The meat and vegetable stew is placed in the base of an oven safe container and covered with a nice layer of homemade mashed potatoes. We have enriched it with a lot of Cheddar cheese, but you can also add butter, liquid cream and make it even creamier.

It did not seem to us that you needed it, but each one to prepare it to their liking. The important thing is that you prepare it and that you share it with yours. Here we go with the recipe.

Ingredients

• 350 g of minced lamb or beef
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 onion
• 2 carrots
• 60 g tomato paste
• Dried thyme
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large potatoes
• 80g Cheddar cheese (15-20g extra for sprinkling)

Preparation of traditional British meatloaf

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sauté the minced beef. We stir so that it does not cake and browns equally on all sides.

We peel the garlic clove and add it. We stir and sauté for a couple of minutes.

Next we peel the carrots and onion, grate them and add them to the pan. We stir until integrating. Let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding the concentrated tomato, dried thyme and seasoning.

Stir again, cover and let the whole cook over low heat for at least 30 minutes. We want the meat to be tender, braised, so let it cook gently and add a little water in case the mixture begins to dry out and cling to the bottom of the pan.

Preparation of mashed potatoes

Meanwhile we prepare the mashed potato. To do this, we peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces of a similar size (so they all cook at the same time).

Heat a saucepan with plenty of water and, when it starts to boil, add the potatoes. Cook until we notice that they are tender when punctured with a skewer. This will depend on the size of our pieces.

Drain, reserving a little cooking water in case we need to hydrate the puree a bit, and mash or go through a puree raisin. Add the cheddar cheese, previously grated, and mix well. The cheese will melt in the heat and the mixture will be creamy.

We test the flavor point and, if we consider it necessary, we season it. We also test the texture point and add a little of the cooking water that we have reserved in case we want a creamier consistency (although we do not consider it necessary).

Assembling the cake. Baking and final presentation

1. We preheat the oven to 200º C.
2. When the meat mixture is ready, we transfer it to an oven mold and distribute it well over the entire surface. We cover with the mashed potato, sprinkle with the grated Cheddar cheese.
3. Bake at 200º C in the middle tray of the oven, with heat up and down (with hot air if your oven has one) and let it cook for between 15 and 20 minutes or until the surface is browned. We serve immediately, very hot. Perfect for a single dish.

Tips and Recommendations for a Yummy Traditional British Meatloaf

• British meatloaf can be enriched by adding more vegetables to the stew. We’ve only put carrots and onion on it, which is the basics, but peas, chopped green beans, diced zucchini, and other veggies are great for it. It is a grateful recipe that admits many variations.
• It is important that the layer of the stew is creamy, so we recommend adding a little water if it dries during cooking. Meat broth can also be added instead. It will give it more flavor.
• Brits love Worcestershire sauce and so do we. One more addition that will give the stew a delicious flavor.
• For the mashed potatoes, it is advisable to use some kind that does not absorb too much water or, failing that, dry the mashed potatoes in the oven before adding the grated cheese to dry. We can also steam them. To taste.

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