Elements:
For the Mashed Potatoes:
- 3 1/2 kilos (1.6kg) russet potatoes (about 4 massive), peeled and reduce into 1-inch items
- Kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cubed
For the Meat Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) home made or store-bought low-sodium rooster inventory
- 2 packets unflavored gelatin (about 5 teaspoons; 1/2 ounce; 14g)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 kilos (1kg) floor beef or lamb, or some mixture (see observe)
- 1 massive yellow onion (about 14 ounces; 400g), diced
- 3 medium carrots (about 8 ounces; 225g), diced
- 2 ribs celery (about 4 ounces; 110g), diced
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) tomato paste
- 1 cup (240ml) dry crimson wine
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) Marmite (optionally available)
- 2 tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces (225g) frozen peas
- Kosher salt and freshly floor black pepper
- To Assemble:
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) heavy cream
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for topping (optionally available)
Steps:
1.For the Mashed Potatoes: Set cubed potatoes in a colander and rinse below chilly water till water runs clear. Switch to a big saucepan and canopy with chilly water by at the very least 2 inches. Season water with salt till virtually as salty as the ocean. Convey water to a boil over excessive warmth, then scale back warmth to medium-low and simmer till a knife simply pierces potatoes with no resistance, 10 to fifteen minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander, then rinse with scorching operating water for 30 seconds. Switch potatoes to a big bowl.
2.Utilizing a potato masher, meals mill, or ricer, mash potatoes with butter. Press floor easy, then press plastic wrap instantly in opposition to the floor to forestall a pores and skin from forming. Put aside till able to assemble.
3. In the meantime, for the Meat Sauce: Place inventory in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, sprinkle with gelatin, and put aside.
4.Warmth oil in a big Dutch oven over excessive warmth till shimmering. Add half of the bottom meat and prepare dinner, stirring and scraping the underside of pot, till properly browned, 6 to eight minutes; use a potato masher or massive whisk to interrupt up meat. Add remaining meat and prepare dinner, breaking apart with masher or whisk, till lowered to small bits, about 3 minutes; decrease warmth as mandatory to forestall scorching. If meat has rendered an extreme quantity of fats, use a metallic spoon to ladle most of it out, leaving only a few tablespoons within the pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and prepare dinner stirring and scraping the underside of pot, till simply starting to melt barely about 4 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and prepare dinner over medium warmth, stirring, for 1 minute. Add crimson wine and produce to a simmer over excessive warmth. Cook dinner, scraping up any browned bits till virtually absolutely evaporated. Add reserved rooster inventory, thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire, and Marmite, if utilizing. Sprinkle flour over floor meat within the pot, then stir in. Convey to a simmer, then scale back warmth to low and simmer till sauce is lowered and thick, about 20 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper.
6. To Assemble and Bake: Regulate oven rack to middle place and preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Earlier than assembling, warmth cream in a big saucepan till simmering. Add potatoes and stir gently till utterly included. Season with salt and pepper. Potatoes at the moment are prepared for meeting.
7.Set a 9- by 13-inch baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Add meat sauce, being cautious to not fill greater than midway. (You may not want all the sauce, relying on the precise dimension of your baking dish.) High with mashed potatoes, spreading them with a spatula to cowl the floor utterly. Utilizing spatula, create a dappled sample on high of potatoes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if utilizing.
8. Switch to oven and bake till high is browned and casserole is absolutely heated via about 20 minutes. For deeper browning, place casserole on a rack set about 6 inches below a scorching broiler for the previous few moments of cooking. (Monitor carefully to forestall potatoes from burning.)
9. Let stand 15 to twenty minutes earlier than serving. Casserole may be assembled, wrapped with plastic, and refrigerated as much as 2 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 35 minutes, then use the broiler to brown high