Shepherd's Pie.....With a little help from my friend!

Not quite the dish you want to be making in this sunny AND warm (at last the sun HAS got his hat on!) weather- but, a tasty dish for when Mr Sun decides to take his regular holidays.

Shepherd's pie is one of my favourite dishes to make, with cheap and simple ingredients which can make enough to feed a small army- or, in my case, keep a hungry fiance happy.  

So, with a little help from my sous chef, Tilly, I set to work and turned the oven on to 220degrees.



What you need:
500g mince
1 large red onion
1 large carrot (2 small)
1 large courgette (2 small)
2 tsp Paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 beef stock cube (or two, dependent on the depth of flavour you want)
1 large passata (or 1 tin tomatoes, chopped preferably)

For topping:
5 -6 large potatoes (baking ones)
Splash of milk
Dessert spoon of butter
Sprinkle of salt

N.B - With any seasoning, I always do it to taste, so I'll put all the above in and then when I'm about 15 mins in I will taste it- if I feel it needs a bit more (for eg) coriander, then I will just add some. Take anything out you don't like and add anything in you do- pepper, sweet corn etc! :) Cooking's all about playing around, trial and error and finding what tantalises your taste buds best!

What to do:

• Place chopped veg in to a hot wok with 2 tbsps Olive oil.
• Fry off until nicely browning (put to the side- in a bowl)
• Place your mince in to the wok- with a bit more oil if necessary- brown off until brown all over.
• Add in your veg and mix together
• Add in your spices and 3 tbsps water
• Add in the chopped tomatoes / passata and bring to boil. Turn right down and allow to simmer. The longer you leave it the more intense the flavour. You can at this stage let it cook for 10 minutes and then put it straight in the oven- however I normally allow 40 - 50 minutes on the hob.

For the topping:

• Chop up around 6 large baking potatoes (leave skins on or take off) and place in to boiling water
• Bring to boil until soft enough to put a knife through
• Drain water and place a dessert spoon of butter, sprinkle of salt and about 6 tbsps milk on to the potatoes.
• Mash up until fluffy. I prefer rustic mash- (I always leave the skin on the potatoes)- but you can make it as smooth as you like.

• Place the mince in to a baking dish and dollop the mash on top in sections and then smooth out so the whole of the mince base cannot be seen
• Put in to the oven for 20 - 30 minutes (until the top has a nice browning skin)
• FOR CHEESE LOVERS: If you want to add cheese on top I would allow the pie to cook for 10- 15 minutes and then sprinkle as much grated cheese as you like on top and then put in for another 10 - 15 minutes.

Then you just have to wait........

And wait. . . .



And then.......voila!

The Sheppard's Pie is cooked and ready to be served straight away with whatever you like. With mine I have roasted vegetables- which I put in to the oven at the same time as the pie -with a little rock salt and oil.

Enjoy!