Let me start with saying I love a good traditional Cottage Pie. I love Shepherd’s Pie. I love meat and mashed potatoes and gravy… which is kind of what shepherd’s pie is, but constructed and upside down. I am all for whipping up mashed potatoes to top a pie… I’ve done it and I’ll do it again. But I am a busy mom! And if I’m honest about it, most nights of the week if I’m going to whip up some potatoes, it’s because it’s a side dish- not an extra step toward accomplishing dinner. I’m also a child of the frozen food era. And I am not too proud to admit that a tater tot baked and salted to crispy perfection is delicious. Of course, in this case I can also boast (like I really care), that it’s baked not fried. However, if I wanted to get really honest, a deep fried tater tot is sublime. If I could figure out a way to deep fry this whole dish I probably would. But if I had time to shred the potatoes for an awesome crust that I stuffed with this seasoned beef filling to deep fry, then surely I would have had the time to whip up a mashed potato topper. Right? So, when you want all the taste without the extra steps… this is the bomb. #momwin
As organic as possible:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 Celery stalk, diced small
1 lb ground Beef (or Lamb, but then you need to call it Shepherd Tot Pie)
1 tsp Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Peas, frozen or fresh
1 cup Corn, frozen or fresh
1-1½ cups Beef stock
2lbs or 24 oz. (approx) Seasoned Tater Tots, frozen (I like Alexa)
Heat the over medium high until hot. Add the diced onion and celery. (And if you’d like a little diced carrot to make it a true trinity… but if your kids are like mine, leave the orange vegetable out.) I only like to cook it for a minute before I add the ground beef, because it’s going to get baked and I like to try and have some texture.
Add the beef, salt and pepper. Cook until just browned. (And if it’s just slightly pink, it’s ok. It will continue to cook and better that it’s not overdone.) Strain all but about a tablespoon of the fat into a safe hot fat catching container. Add the tablespoon of butter.
When it’s melted, give it a little swirl around the pan and add the 2 tablespoons of flour.
Let the flour cook in the meat, onion and celery mixture for a couple minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and 1 cup beef stock. Let cook for a few minutes, until sauce starts to thicken, if too thick add remaining 1/2 cup of stock. Add the peas and corn. Give the whole mix a stir and take it off of the heat.
I have a 1¾ quart dish that is perfect for this recipe, however a 2 qt dish will do. Pour the meat and veggie mixture into the dish in an even layer. Then lovingly place the tater tots in calculated rows (or completely abstract) in a single layer on top of the meat mix.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tots are golden brown and crisp.
Let stand a couple minutes to cool After gravy stops bubbling, serve warm… and with ketchup if you’d like, because it’s tasty.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion, diced
- 1 Celery stalk, diced small
- 1 lb ground Beef (or Lamb, but then you need to call it Shepherd Tot Pie)
- 1 tsp Salt, to taste
- 1/2 tsp Pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Flour
- 1½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup Peas, frozen or fresh
- 1 cup Corn, frozen or fresh
- 1-1½ cups Beef stock
- 2lbs or 24 oz. (approx) Tater Tots, frozen
Instructions
- Heat the over medium high until hot. Add the diced onion and celery. Cook for about a minute.
- Add the beef, salt and pepper. Cook until just browned. (And if it's just slightly pink, it's ok. It will continue to cook and better that it's not overdone.)
- Strain all but about a tablespoon of the fat. Add the tablespoon of butter. When it's melted, give it a little swirl around the pan and add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Let the flour cook in the meat, onion and celery mixture for a couple minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Let cook for a few minutes, until sauce starts to thicken.
- Add the peas and corn. Stir and take it off of the heat.
- Using a 1¾ quart or 2 qt dish, pour the meat and veggie mixture in an even layer.
- Place the tater tots in calculated rows (or completely abstract) in a single layer on top of the meat mix.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tots are golden brown and crisp.
- Let stand a couple minutes to cool. Serve warm.
Well I come from the spiritual home of Cottage and Shepherds pie (England) and I can vouch that nothing could be finer (including being in Carolina in the Spring Time) than this squidgy meat and gravy confection topped with mash. But wait! Tater tots … yup – I’m feeling this deep. And I may succumb to the delight. As a by the way, if you visit Scotland you may find Scotch Pie ( a delectable lamb and onion pie in a short crust parcel) fried in most Fish and Chip shops. When I told my stepson (raised in Massachusetts) of this when he lived with me in England he misted over and uttered ‘fried pie’ … I hardly dare think what he would make of the notion of your exquisite dish of delight fried …. I probably won’t try to find out!
Now it is absolute that my husband take me to Scotland to try a real Scotch pie! …And in thought, maybe your stepson could be persuaded if he believed it to be something totally different, like not a fried hand pie… just an empanada? Then there is no comparison! Lol. Here, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we have taken ownership of the pastie, which is similar in theory but lacks the gravy. Alas! I have to say the salty crunch of a tater tot does add that little je ne sais quoi. (Of course I have been predisposed to the admiration of “tater tots” and ketchup for as far back as I can remember.) So, if the occasion to introduce this dish to him presented itself, I would suggest leave the “cottage” off altogether and refer to it only as an “Tot Pie”, in which (ideally) there is no offense!
And now, as I often do, I have taken the thought of this way too far. Because, I am thinking I would hate to set you up for disappointment. So in the event that things do go awry we should have a Boston Cream Pie (or something familiar and nostalgic) to fall back on. In which case, we could skip straight to dessert and make amends. Naturally, having his favorite beverage on hand wouldn’t harm anything either.
Many thanks Fiona, for your comment and enduring my incessant rambling 🙂
My daughter (who is now off to college) would absolutely love this! She’s a huge tater tot fan. I might have to surprise her with it on her next trip home. 🙂
It’s a fun and easy casserole… for a tater tot fan! Although I’d imagine she’d want to frequent that taco truck of yours! ?
Genius!
I knew it! ? Thank you ?
I have to admit that I’ve never seen or heard of a tater tot pie but it looks really yummy and I imagine little ones must get a kick out of this!
Years ago I had a friend who passed a similar recipe to me, a tater tot casserole, with ground beef, corn, and cheese, etc. Last year, my husband bought me a cookbook from WS with a potpourri of American recipes. One of them was called a (tater tot) Chicken Hot Pot by Molly Yeh. It had more of a chicken pot pie base with a tater tot crust. But I can safely say this is a variation of all my own (Meaning to say that if it has been done before I haven’t seen it!)
And I should add, that from experience, seasoned tater tots do make an important difference! Thank you Marissa ?
Interesting Sadie, I love learning about different foods!
Me too Marisa! ?