- Serves 3 to 4 - Ready in 1 hour and 50 minutes - Best eaten on the day it's made -
Gather together for the Topping...
7 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm-thick slices (approx. 700g of peeled potatoes). ** If you are pushed for time, start boiling them whilst you gather together the other ingredients for the topping and filling .**
2 tbsp butter.
2 free-range egg yolks (you could add the egg whites to an omelette, in addition to a whole egg, so the whites aren't wasted).
Pinch of salt.
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard.
2 handfuls grated cheddar cheese.
Gather together for the Filling...
1 tbsp olive oil / rapeseed oil.
2 onions, thinly sliced and diced (to save time day-to-day, I keep a big box of onions I've chopped ahead-of-time, in the freezer, so I throw in 4 handfuls of those).
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (or 1 tsp lazy garlic).
3 medium carrots, sliced into rounds which are then quartered (don't be tempted to blitz the carrots in a food processor as they end up too small for this recipe).
3 celery sticks (fresh NOT watery defrosted ones), halved lengthways and then finely chopped.
1 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).
175ml red wine (or use stock instead of the wine).
250ml leftover lamb gravy (or make a fresh 250ml batch of thick instant gravy on the hob using Bisto Gravy Powder which is packaged only in card/paper).
300g leftover, slow-cooker tender lamb chunks / torn pieces.
2 tbsp Worcester sauce.
3 tbsp tomato ketchup (or you can use use passata).
Pinch of ground pepper.
300g (generously heaped cereal dish-full) frozen peas.
Get cooking...
1. Put the peeled and sliced 7 potatoes in a pan of straight-from-the kettle hot water, add a pinch of salt and heat the sliced bits of potatoes on the hob on medium for 30 minutes or so, until they are soft enough to mash.
2. In a large oven-proof, lidded casserole dish (in the 1 tbsp of oil), gently sweat the 2 finely chopped onions and the 3 cloves of chopped garlic (with the lid on) for 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add the 3 finely chopped-up carrots and the 3 finely chopped-up celery stalks and gently cook (with the lid on) for 10 - 15 minutes, until tender.
4. Add the 1 tbsp of thyme leaves, the 175ml of red wine and the 250ml of gravy, simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Add the 300g of leftover lamb chunks, the 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and the 3 tbsp of ketchup. Season with the pinch of ground pepper. Simmer gently (with the lid off) for 10 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan) or gas mark 4.
7. Meanwhile prepare the mash topping - drain and mash the 700g of potatoes (in a saucepan, as it has a flat base and high sides) with 2 tbsp of butter and a pinch of salt. Add in the 2 egg yolks and the 1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard. Stir well. If using freshly boiled potatoes, don't worry about the egg yolks scrambling in the heat - they won't, they will be fine!
8. Turn off the hob heat under the pan. Add the 300g (generously heaped cereal dish-full) of frozen peas to the meat mixture, stir briefly to distribute the peas and then flatten down the mixture slightly.
9. Put the mashed potato on top of the meat-veg mixture and fluff up the mash with a fork.
10. Sprinkle 2 handfuls of grated cheese over the mashed potato.
11. Cook the shepherd's pie in the oven for 30 minutes, with the lid OFF.
12. Then use the grill to brown the top of the potato/cheese for 5 minutes.
13. Enjoy!
14. If there are leftovers, reheat them in the microwave and smother with gravy (made from instant granules - Bisto Gravy Powder is packaged only in card/paper) before serving, to rehydrate.
Adapted slightly from a Delicious Magazine recipe.