In 1967 my family went to the World's Fair in Montreal, and had shepherd's pie for the first time.

Looking at recipes on the Internet, there is some debate about the difference between shepherd's pie and cottage pie. Either way, it's a beef casserole topped with mashed potatoes. This one here was called Cottage Pie.

You can make it with browned hamburger if you want, but it'll taste a little different than using leftover roast beef.

Cottage Pie

3 cups minced or finely diced leftover roast beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 to 4 cups leftover or fresh mashed potatoes, prepared with milk, butter, salt, and pepper
3 tablespoons sour cream, optional
1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese
Sweet Hungarian paprika

Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Heat oven to 350°.
In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil until softened and lightly browned. Add beef and butter and sauté for about 1 minute longer. Stir in the flour until blended. Add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and peas and carrots. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into the prepared baking dish. If using leftover mashed potatoes, warm them in a saucepan with a little butter or milk until softened. Stir sour cream and cheese into the potatoes. Spoon potatoes evenly over the beef layer and sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until hot and bubbly. If desired, turn on the broiler to brown the top for just a minute or two, but watch carefully to prevent burning.
Serves 4.

An alternative to the mashed potatoes is to make up some nice biscuit dough and bake that on top of the meat. Plan on serving some extra gravy on the side because the biscuits tend to absorb a lot of the gravy from the meat.