Beth Denny

My first experiment with Thai and English fusion was a red curry ‘Cottage Pie’. As I used pork, it is not a ‘traditional’ cottage or shepherd’s pie but I feel pork tastes best with red curry.

I began by frying red curry paste, adding coconut milk gradually and leaving to simmer on a low heat. The curry paste from the supermarket was quite salty, so I balanced the flavour with a touch of sugar. After cooking the pork mince in a separate pan, I combined the meat and sauce in an oven proof dish, topped with mashed potato and a healthy sprinkle of cheddar cheese before baking in the oven.

I tried this dish with Quorn mince instead of pork over the Easter holidays at a dinner party for friends which worked successfully. I have yet to experiment with other meat, for example beef or lamb. Chicken or poultry tastes better with green curry… my future project, minced chicken infused green curry cottage pie.