Cottage pie with instant mash?

glider3560

I have some supermarket own brand Smash in the cupboard. I want to make a cottage pie later in the week and I'm feeling slightly lazy

Has anyone tried Smash on a cottage pie? I'm worrying it'll just dry out and become a solid lump!

Elisecas

Never tried it but why not just add a little extra liquid?

PasturesNew

If you read the label you'll most likely discover it's 99% potato... it's only your head that's telling you it's different mostly.

Bottom line is: You've got a plan, you're wondering - just do it.

Somebody might say "It's great" and another "It's rank" - but everybody's different and will have used a different packet, with different amounts of water, cooked in a different oven, with differing expectations.

In short ... if that's your only choice, then go for it and decide for yourself.

I can confirm: Yes it'll work, I'd eat it.

I would also ask what you're doing that means you have to put it in the oven at all... is it just the browning? Or are you topping it with tomatoes/whatnot? You could just make it and serve yourself mince and mash! That's all cottage pie is at roots level

sillyvixen

It will work as a mash topping, we have used it in church lunches where we have needed enough cottage pie to serve 50 or so people and it is much more time saving to mix catering packs of instant mash than peel, cook and mash industrial quantities of potatos.

VfM4meplse

PasturesNew wrote: »

Somebody might say "It's great" and another "It's rank"

That would be me then

McKneff

Horrible, rank, disgusting rubbish,.

Pop_Up_Pirate

VfM4meplse wrote: »

That would be me then

And me.
I wondered why ruin a nice cottage pie with:-
Dehydrated potatoes with BHA, citric acid and sodium bisulfate, the potatoes may include sodium acid pyrophosphate and dipotassium phosphate. Silicon dioxide is also added to prevent the potato flakes from forming clumps during storage.
They also contain oils, preservatives, sweetners. chemical dairy, flavourings etc.

All in all, a nice bunch of carp and some of it is carcinogenic.

Boil a potato instead

chirpychick

I always use the 20p instant mash when i make "pie" of any kind, its 99% potato, it's quick and easy and generally when mixed with the sauce of the pie or topped with cheese its absolutely fine and you taste no difference.
I wont eat it on it's own though (i.e with sausages) as I don't think it tastes as nice a fresh potatoes.

Livelongandprosper

Whilst it's not my cup of tea, it's works perfectly well as a pie topping. Plenty of butter

Chris25

yes, use plenty of butter and seasoning - you can add herbs to it too, or even the yolk of an egg

FabFifty

Add butter to your instant mash and no-one will be any the wiser.