Shepherd's Pie
The classic combination of minced beef and mashed potatoes with a delicious gravy.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 800 grams minced beef
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 litre beef or chicken stock
- 200g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 500 grams potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
- 50 grams butter cubed
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a heavy based pan.
- Fry the minced beef until it browns. If necessary, fry in batches. When done, strain and discard any juices or liquid and set the minced beef aside.
- Add the onions, celery and carrots to the same pan and sauté for 15 minutes or until soft. Add more extra virgin olive oil if needed.
- Add in the garlic and stir for one minute.
- Add tomatoes and cook for a minute, then return the beef to the pan and mix well.
- Add the bay leaves and just enough stock to cover the beef by 1 cm and cover the pan. Simmer the meat gently for 40 - 50 mins. Do not let the mixture boil.
- When done, strain the meat sauce and reserve the liquid.
Mashed Potato
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft.
- Mash the potatoes with the butter until well combined and there are no lumps. Feel free to use more butter and/ or milk to achieve a richer consistency.
Assembly
- Spoon the meat mixture into a baking tray, making sure it is as level as possible.
- Add a layer of mashed potato, making sure all the meat sauce is covered (especially in the corners).
- Use a fork to fluff up the surface of the mashed potato. This helps form a nice crust and looks nice too.
- Put the baking tray into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the mashed potato has turned golden brown.
- Meanwhile, reheat the reserved liquid from the meat sauce, and allow to thicken into a gravy.
- When ready, serve the Shepherd's Pie with the gravy.