{"id":4648,"date":"2024-11-24T11:33:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-24T10:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radishthegreat.com\/blog\/?p=4648"},"modified":"2024-11-24T11:34:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-24T10:34:19","slug":"sweet-mama-cottage-pie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radishthegreat.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/24\/sweet-mama-cottage-pie\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Mama Cottage Pie"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Be sure to get my good side.”
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I love the green of the Sweet Mama, but as I should have learned last year<\/a>, it doesn’t keep very long. While I was looking up recipes for the Ufos<\/a>, my Sweet Mama developed a soft white spot on one side, and another by the stem. Please remind me to use the green one first next year.

When the weather is dismal<\/a>, make yourself a cottage pie with a bright orange top. Note<\/strong>: The recipe I used<\/a> calls it a “shepherd’s pie”, but it’s not made with lamb<\/a>, so it cannot be. Words still mean things here at the Radish the Great Experience.

(“The recipe also calls for butternut squash, Radish.” I noticed that. Purees leave a lot of room for experimentation with other varieties.)

This was a two-day project, although it doesn’t have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day One: Roasting and Smashing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As usual, popped two halves, cut side down, into a 200\u00b0C oven for an hour. I love the deep orange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before and After roasting.
November 2024<\/em>
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It got so soft I could use a potato masher instead of getting out the electric blender. It measured out three cups, which I refrigerated for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have I mentioned that I love this deep orange?
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 2: Supper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since I only had three cups of puree and the recipe called for four, I decided to make too many mashed potatoes and use a tiny bit of them, as normal people do, right? Since the puree was cold, I warmed it on the stove before adding the butter and cheeses–and then I forgot to add the herbs. It definitely would have been better with the herbs. Don’t forget to add the herbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mashed and smashed.
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The base of the pie was…unremarkable. Might be my fault; I didn’t have enough frozen peas, so I added some carrots. I should have just made a mirepoix and browned the ground beef separately, but I followed the directions and cooked it with the celery and onions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bright colors again, at least.
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The meat sauce is thickened with flour. I have never gotten this to work out for me, and guess what? This recipe was no exception. And the usual umami-bringers and flavor enhancers like Worcestershire sauce or red wine were missing completely.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Peas!
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At this point, I was hungry, so I skipped the “put the pumpkin into a pastry bag and do some decorative nonsense” step. The filling didn’t leak out of the top layer, and that’s what’s important. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Don’t forget the herbs!
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The final dish was very soupy. It was tasty enough, but next year I will use my usual cottage pie recipe for the base and just swap out the pumpkin-cheese puree for the top layer. I also couldn’t taste any of the mashed potatoes, but they did provide some stability that pure pumpkin wouldn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Maybe I should have titled this “Sweet Mama Ground Beef Casserole.”
November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

K\u00fcrbisfest 2024 <\/a>rolls on…and there’s still three cups of puree in the freezer…<\/p>\n\n\n

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November 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe I should have titled this “Sweet Mama Ground Beef Casserole.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kurbisfest-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t