What's for dinner: Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Did I confess how much I hated Shepherd's Pie as a child? I found that crispy mashed potato so utterly offensive and the blah-ness of mince (which I preferred as bolognaise) couldn't entice me. But can I tell you how much I love making Shepherd's Pie now that I'm a mother? It's a great recipe with lots of easiness, cheapness and satisfaction all built in. Try this, tell me what you think.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 600g beef mince (we like heart-smart)
• 3 rashers short cut bacon, chopped
• 8 button mushrooms, wiped and halved
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 400g can peeled tomatoes
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or mixed herbs
• 1 cup frozen peas
• Potato mash
• 1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 50g butter
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for five minutes or until soft. Add the mince, bacon and mushrooms and cook for three minutes or until mince is browned. Stir through the tomato paste, tomatoes, stock and herbs. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then uncover, and simmer for a further 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the peas and cook for another couple of minutes.
To make the potato topping, boil the potatoes in water until soft. Drain well and mash with butter, milk and parmesan.
Pour the meat mixture into a 1L capacity ovenproof dish and top with the mash. Bake for 35 minutes or until the potato topping is golden brown.

Notes:

• Make the meat sauce the night before I want to serve the Shepherd’s pie. You can have it simmering away while you cook today’s meal, then tomorrow all you have to do is prepare the mash and heat in the oven.
• My baking dish was piled high and looked fantastic, but did overflow a bit in the oven, so perhaps put the baking dish on a tray to avoid everyone’s least favourite kitchen job – oven cleaning.
• To avoid the disgusted cry from the children “Mum, it’s got green/orange bits in it!” you can always puree the vegies and stir through when you add the tomatoes.