Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie, made with ground lamb mince. The lamb was browned in its own fat for twenty minutes or so. After that the fat was drained into a small pan via a metal sieve.

Leave to drain for for twenty minutes, before returning the lamb to the pan. Add chopped carrot, onion, courgette, and stir fry together for three minutes at a medium heat. Add boiling water, and simmer under glass for an hour and a half to two hours. At the end of this period, add the lamb and vegetable stock. Stir together for at least five minutes. 

Allow to cool, then decant the lamb filling to a ceramic or pyrex vessel (I used a casserole dish). You can store it in the fridge for a couple of days before adding the potato topping.

The potatoes were cooking in boiling water for thirty minutes until soft. Decant to a bowl, and add a little salted butter and sunflower oil. Mash together, and allow to cool.

Once the mash is cool, add it to the top of the lamb filling. Texture the mash with a fork.

Place the pie on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 200 deg C, and cook for between 45 and 60 minutes. After 35 minutes, check the appearance of the pie, and the extent to which it is browning. Watch it carefully until it is ready.

Serve immediately, with a side-serving of garden peas.