Cottage Pie Italian Style

Sheperd's Pie or Cottage Pie is done with beef, this one is done with pork! You can use leftover pork provided you chop it up really fine.

Then, the secret ingredients to give it its special Italian flavor are:

• rosemary, the leaves from one twig
• 1 cup chopped onion or leek (one)
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I use porcini but any tasty mushroom is fine)
• 2 tablespoons peas (even the frozen ones will do)
• 2 cups minced pork (roasted - or if using fresh meat, it needs to chopped and stir-fried in the pan where you've started cooking the vegetables - if it's a leftover already cooked, add it only at the very end, just to warm up)
• mashed potatoes, done the usual way with milk and butter added only after it's nice and smooth (with one whole egg beaten in at the end - optional)
• left-over pork roast sauce, or lacking it, add Knorr concentrated broth (one spoonful)
• one small glass of white wine
• salt and pepper to taste (careful with the salt!)

The above is good for 4 persons.

Method: 

• stir-fry the vegetables in olive oil (one small spoonful), together with the rosemary, in a big pan;
• add one small glass of white wine
• add the meat to the pan, early in the process if your meat is fresh and you need to cook it; late if you use leftover meat;
• flavor with leftover meat sauce from the roast or Knorr meat broth

Now you need to warm it up in the over:

• In a baking dish, start with a layer of the stir-fried meat and vegetables
• cover well with mashed potatoes
• sprinkle with Parmesan cheese - be generous with it!
• Put in oven, turn on the grill and watch it turn golden.

Serve piping hot, accompanied by a nice, full-bodied Chianti.

Source for image: