Hunter's Pie

Name: Hunter's Pie
Total time: 4200 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 300 g minced venison; 3 sticks celery; 2 carrots; 1 onion; 1 parsnip; 2 cloves garlic; small handful parsley; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 500 ml beef stock; 125 ml red wine (optional); 2 tbsps Henderson’s Relish or Lea and Perrins; few grinds of salt and pepper; 1/2 (200 g) celeriac, peeled; 300 g white potatoes; 300 sweet potatoes; small handful Brussel sprouts; 4 tbsps butter; 50 ml milk; Bouquet garni:; 1 sprig rosemary; 1 sprig thyme; 1 sprig sage leaves; 1 bay leaf

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Mince and mash in this country is called ‘shepherd’s pie’, ‘cottage pie’ or 'hunter's pie' but none are actually pies and the only difference is in the meat used, cottage being made with beef, shepherd's with lamb and hunter's with venison. Then there is Cumberland pie that’s topped with cheese and breadcrumbs and a shepherdess or shepherdless pie contains neither shepherds or meat?!

Although potatoes were introduced to the UK in the 16th century, ‘cottage pye’ didn’t appear until the 18th century. It refers to a dish made from chopped meat, topped with potatoes and baked. It was typically made by peasants who lived in cottages, hence the name cottage pie. Cottage predates shepherd’s pie by nearly a century. It was commonplace before days of refrigeration to cook a Sunday joint to last in various guises throughout the week.

Hot on Sunday,
Cold on Monday,
Hashed on Tuesday,
Minced on Wednesday,
Curried Thursday,
Broth on Friday,
Cottage pie Saturday.

There are many varieties throughout the world; in Chile ‘pastel de papas’ has bell peppers, in Indonesia ‘pastel tutup’ has peas and boiled egg and in Canada ‘pâté chinois (Chinese pie) has corn. In France, ‘hachis Parmentier’ is named after a Frenchman who convinced his country that eating potatoes was the way to go - hachis being derived from the word hatchet, meaning chopped or minced.

My version contains minced venison, some herbs from the garden , a sploosh of red wine and all the leftover vege I have.

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

My version contains minced venison, some herbs from the garden , a sploosh of red wine and all the leftover vege I have.

Saved

Ingredients

1 hour and 10 minutes

4 servings

300 gminced venison
3 stickscelery
2carrots
1onion
1parsnip
2 clovesgarlic
small handful parsley
1 tbspolive oil
1 tbsptomato paste
500 mlbeef stock
125 mlred wine (optional)
2 tbspsHenderson’s Relish or Lea and Perrins
few grinds of salt and pepper
1/2 (200 g)celeriac, peeled
300 gwhite potatoes
300sweet potatoes
small handful Brussel sprouts
4 tbspsbutter
50 mlmilk
Bouquet garni:
1 sprigrosemary
1 sprigthyme
1 sprigsage leaves
1bay leaf

Saved

Steps

1 hour and 10 minutes

1

Finely chop the celery, carrots, onion, parsnip, garlic, parsley stalks (not the leaves) into small cubes (Brunoise style). Add a glug of oil to a large skillet and gently fry the vegetables (being careful not to burn them) for 5 minutes.
2

Add the mince to the pan and stir to combine, breaking up the meat. Cook for a further 5 minutes then add the tomato puree, bouquet garni, stock, red wine (if adding) and the Henderson’s. Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes until the meat is cooked and the sauce is thick. Add the parsley leaves and check the seasoning.
3

Whilst the meat is cooking, roughly chop the celeriac and potatoes and place in a pan of salted water. Cook for 10 minutes until cooked through then drain and leave in a colander to dry. Add the remaining 3 tbsps of butter and milk to the potato and celeriac mix and mash. Stir in the parsley leaves. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet and cook the Brussel sprouts for 5 minutes until slightly charred. Turn the Brussels over and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and roughly chop.
4

Add the remaining 3 tbsps of butter and the milk to the potato and celeriac mix and mash. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the parsley, add the Brussels and set aside.
5

Place the meat in the bottom of a small casserole dish and top with the mash. Rough up the mash with either a fork or the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes until the top is golden.
Serve with kale.