If you love traditional, reliable meals but you also enjoy giving your meals a bit of a fun twist that keeps you on your toes, try this cottage pie with a rich beef stroganoff filling! Not only is the flavour mouthwateringly good but it’s a unique recipe that’ll have everyone asking you for the recipe.

The best part about the whole thing however is just how easy it is to prepare. Although the flavour might taste super gourmet and difficult to achieve, it actually only requires 20 minutes of simple preparation, so you can enjoy the end product in no time at all!

Ingredients

• 1kg gravy beef, cut into 3cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
• 1 cup beef style liquid stock
• 200g swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 100g cup mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Fresh chives, chopped, to serve
• Green beans, steamed, to serve
  Mash topping
• 1.25kg sebago potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 50g butter, chopped

Method

1. Place beef in a large bowl. Add flour. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a 10-cup-capacity, heavy-based flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Cook beef, in 3 batches, for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.
3. Add onion to dish. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and paprika. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste, mustard and stock. Bring to the boil. Return beef to dish. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 11⁄2 hours. Remove lid. Simmer for a further 1 hour. Sauce should be very thick. Add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or until beef is very tender. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream.
4. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced.
5. Meanwhile make Mash Topping: Place potato in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Boil for 12 to 15 minutes or until potato is very tender. Drain well. Return potato to pan. Add sour cream and half of the butter. Mash until smooth and combined. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Dollop beef mixture with mash topping. Spread to cover filling. Dot with remaining butter. Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden. Stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chives. Serve with beans.