Beef Mince Cobbler Recipe 

by Meliz Cooks

 

Beef Mince Cobbler was one of the things I vividly remember making at secondary school during my home economics class. Here I’ve given it a very “Meliz Cooks” spin by adding my favourite herbs and condiments to the beef mince filling, such as dried mint and pomegranate molasses, and filling the scones with hellim (halloumi), spring onions and more dried mint.

 

A beautiful and cosy winter warmer, and very much a crowd pleaser, you can save time by finely chopping up the onions, celery and carrots and storing them in batches in the freezer, then simply adding them straight to the pan when you’re ready to use them.

 

This is also a great recipe to make ahead and freeze (covered tightly and securely with cling film) before baking in the oven, and simple defrosting the fridge overnight, and then bringing up to room temperature for 30 minutes on the kitchen counter before baking in the oven as per the recipe instructions.  

Ingredients

For the beef mince filling:

  • 3 tbsp light olive or vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, very finely diced
  • 2 carrots, very finely diced
  • 2 celery sticks, very finely diced
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 800g beef mince
  • 300g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh garlic cloves, finely grated 
  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • 2 tbsp tatlı biber salçası (Turkish sweet (mild) red pepper paste)
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • ½ tsp coarse black pepper
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 tbsp pain flour
  • 800ml hot beef stock / broth
  • 2 bay leaves

Continued

For the scones

  • 300g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 100g butter cut into cubes
  • 125g coarsely grated helium
  • 75g finely grated parmesan
  • 1 large spring onion, very finely sliced
  • 10g fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
  • ¼ tsp coarse black pepper
  • 130ml milk
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • ½ tsp nigella seeds

Method

  1. In a pan over a medium heat, add the oil and heat up, then add the carrots, onions and celery, sprinkle over a little salt and soften for 12-15 mins.
    Add the garlic, tomato puree and red pepper paste to the pan, stir into the vegetables, then add the mince, breaking it down with a wooden spoon and let it brown and crisp up all over. Season with a little black pepper.
  2. Add the mushrooms, rosemary, thyme and dried mint and cook down the mushrooms until they soften into the mince.
  3. Pour the Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, and pomegranate molasses into the pan, stir well, sprinkle over the flour, stir again, then pour in the hot stock, stir and add the bay leaves. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer, half covered with the lid, on a low heat for 30-40 minutes or until thick and reduced.
  4. Once the mince filling is cooked, turn off the heat and let it cool down a little while you make the scones.
  5. Preheat your oven to 190c fan / 210c.
  6. In a large bowl, rub together the self-raising flour, baking powder and cubed butter to form the consistency of light breadcrumbs. Add in the cheeses (reserving around a 1/4 of each for topping the scones with), spring onion, dried mint, salt and pepper, and mix gently but thoroughly, then create a well in the centre of the bowl. 

Method Continued

7. Whisk together the egg and milk until light and frothy, then keep adding a little, but not all, of this wet mixture into the well. Reserve some of the wet mixture to brush the tops of the scones with before baking. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in the bowl with your hands until you had a soft dough.

8. Turn the dough onto a clean floured surface, gently knead and push it together (not too much, as the scones should be light and fluffy, so be careful not to overwork the dough), then brush with a little more flour to make it easier to roll. Roll the dough until it is 2cm thick, and cut into 12 scones. Brush with the reserved (egg and milk) wet mixture from earlier, and the reserved hellim (save the reserved parmesan) and sesame and nigella seeds. 
Pour the cooled mince filling into a casserole dish (I use a round one that’s 28cm in diameter). Top the mince filling with the scones and sprinkle over the remaining parmesan.

9. Bake in your preheated oven on the middle shelf for around 20 minutes until the scones are cooked and the mince filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and served with more grated parmesan.

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