DF GF Butternut & Broccoli Cottage Pie
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Buying a whole butternut is a big commitment. I hate, deeply hate, when food gets wasted. When I buy a butternut pumpkin, we're going to eat the whole thing. Whether we like it or not. So my challenge is to find ways to use some core ingredients over and over in a week but produce dishes with different flavors. (Part of a larger quest to find 31 great meals for each season on the year.)
This week's core ingredients: Butternut Pumpkin and Broccoli
Meal #1: Coconut Quinoa Bean & Veg Casserole
Meal #2: One of my childhood favorites: Cottage Pie!
My Granny made the most amazing Cottage Pie. I have wonderful childhood memories of her delicious creamy potatoes and savory meat on cold winter nights. She, of course, used farm-woman ingredients: butter and cream. And to be honest I've been wary of trying substitutes.
One of my dearest friends in the world once gave me very good advice about becoming gluten-free: Don't try to make things you love. They won't taste right. Go for new recipes that you don't know with gluten. Then you won't be disappointed in the taste. She's not wrong. My favorite recipes done with gluten and dairy substitutes were very disappointing.
But Cottage Pie is the perfect dish for jam-packing with extra veggies and nutrient sources. And I miss warm delicious comfort foods that are usually gluten and dairy-full. So I went for it. No dairy. No gluten. No canned. No tomatoes. But it still had a rich, bold flavor thanks to the help of GF Worcestershire Sauce in the meat sauce and a well-seasoned potato topping. This is a delicious casserole! We had seconds. And then thirds. It's been a long time since I've had a meal that was so enjoyable. The kids also loved it. Total shock. I am so happy. Hurray!! Also, this is another recipe that could be altered for each season by using seasonal veggies. (Note: Yesterday my doc advised I drop nightshades from my diet too. So my next Cottage Pie experiment will be to use cauliflower and/or sweet potatoes for the topping. Stay tuned...)
BUTTERNUT & BROCCOLI COTTAGE PIE
GF | DF
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef (or your fav ground meat)
- 2 to 3C peeled & chopped butternut
- 2C chopped broccoli trunk, stems & florets
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1T GF Worcestershire Sauce
- 1C beef stock (or veg stock)
- Your fav combo of seasonings: thyme, italian, TJs 21 Seasoning Salute, etc.
.- 1T cornstarch (or 2tsp arrowroot if you want to avoid corn) & a 1T cool water
- Up to 1lb russet potatoes
- 1/2C Goat Yogurt and/or your fav milk sub (almond, coconut etc.)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2tsp nutmeg or paprika
Method:
1. Peel and chop potatoes into quarters or eighths. Cook in salted boiling water until soft (typically about 15 - 25 minutes.)
2. While potatoes are cooking, brown ground meat until just browned.
3. Add veggies and cook, stirring regularly, until onion and butternut start to caramelize.
4. Add garlic, GF Worcestershire Sauce, salt & pepper, and seasonings. Taste and then season more if necessary.
5.. Combine cornstarch or arrowroot with some water to make a slurry and add to beef stock.
6. Add beef stock with slurry to meat & veggies. Stir well.
5. Grease a large casserole dish with whatever you like. My fav is Trader Joe's Coconut Spray.
6. Mash potatoes and add goat yogurt and/or milk substitutes a quarter cup at a time until creamy consistency is achieved. Season with salt & pepper to taste and add nutmeg or paprika. I like nutmeg with butternut.
7. Put meat mixture in casserole. Spread top with mashed potatoes.
8. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. (Optional: place under broiler to brown the top of the potatoes.) The meat and veggies are already fully cooked so this step is just to allow flavors to develop.
So delicious!