This is not a pie so much as a recipe for messy beef & cheese fries, but I make it sort of similarly to a cottage pie, so I’ve named it as such. It’s such an easy recipe to make and it’s a fun thing to serve with ice cold beers on an evening when you’re gathered around the TV for sports or having a friendly get-together. This is messy, pub grub style comfort food at best. We’re not trying for a Michelin star here and I certainly wouldn’t make this for anyone you want to impress, but if you’ve got a junk food craving, this one is for you!
As far as the cheese is concerned in this recipe, there are options. I have specifically used processed cheese slices here because I’m going for the American-style cheeseburger vibe, but I appreciate that what Londoners often refer to as “plastic cheese” isn’t for everyone. To be fair, it’s not the greatest… So, with that in mind, this dish can be elevated by choosing a different cheese. I would suggest cheddar, red Leicester, cheddarella (a shredded mix of cheddar & mozarella) or Swiss cheese like Emmental or Leerdammer. You can absolutely use whatever you like, but I can tell you from experience that cheddar is an excellent choice if you’re not keen on the flimsy American-style slices. If you happen to be in America making this, the choice is clear – reach for the Velveeta or something similar for ultimate melting potential. Yum!
Seasoning salt is something that is standard in most American larders. My favourite is Lawry’s which I can often find online or in specialty food shops that stock American products, but if you don’t have that an onion salt, garlic salt or even just a sprinkle of regular salt will do. If you’ve never tried Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, it’s fantastic and I definitely recommend ordering some. I love it on popcorn, fries, chicken, jacket potatoes – anything and it lasts forever. Old Bay Seasoning would work too.
It’s up to you whether you choose to customise this in any way. You might want to serve it with some mayonnaise on the side for dipping. To make it truly like a cheeseburger you could drizzle mustard and/or ketchup on top and sprinkle with some dill pickle slices. You might choose to add some bacon bits to the mix for a bacon cheeseburger vibe. Some chopped chorizo in the meat mixture would also be very nice. There are so many ways to make this your own and experimenting can be a lot of fun. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons garlic oil or regular olive oil
- 500g minced beef (ground beef)
- Salt & pepper
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 beef stock pot or cube
- 1 400g tin of Cream of Tomato Soup
- 10 slices of processed American-style cheese (or other cheese of your choice)
- 500g frozen oven fries
- Seasoning salt (optional)
- Olive oil for drizzling
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F. Prep a rectangular glass casserole or high sided baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or a little oil rubbed on the sides and bottom. Set aside.
- Add the oil to a large frying pan and put it over medium or medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and season with salt & pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks and continue cooking until it’s mostly browned.
- Add the Worcestershire Sauce and the stock pot to the pan or if you’re using a cube, crumble it in as much as you can. Stir to combine and dissolve until most of the beef is coated and then stir in the cream of tomato soup. Bring this to a bubble, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or so until it thickens a little.
- When the saucy meat mixture is ready, pour it into the casserole dish. Layer the cheese slices (or shredded cheese if that’s what you’re using) over the meat mixture to create a bit of a barrier between the sauce and the fries that will go on top. Then scatter the fries overtop in as close to a single layer as you can manage. Drizzle lightly with some olive oil and season with seasoning salt or regular salt.
- Bake the dish in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the fries are cooked through and are nice and crispy on top. Serve hot.
