A proper family shepherd’s pie, built in six individual dishes so you can bake one for tonight and freeze the rest. Lamb gives it the classic flavour, but beef works just as well.
- Prep
- 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 hr 10 min
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Serves
- 6
- Makes
- 6 containers
- Difficulty
- Medium
Ingredients
Filling
Mash topping
Method
- Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain, steam dry for 2 minutes, then mash with the butter and milk. Season well.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion, carrots and celery for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the mince, break it up and cook for 8 minutes until browned. Drain off excess fat if there is a lot.
- Stir in the tomato purée and flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the stock, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Simmer for 20 minutes until thick, then stir in the peas.
- Divide the filling between six individual ovenproof dishes. Top with the mash and rough it up with a fork.
- To eat one now, bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 25 minutes until golden. Cool the rest completely before covering and freezing.
Notes
Cool leftovers within 1 to 2 hours of cooking: spread them in shallow containers, then refrigerate once steaming has stopped. These freeze well unbaked or baked: unbaked pies bake from defrosted with an extra 10 minutes. Swap the lamb for beef to make a cottage pie. Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so leave it out for a vegetarian filling made with lentils.
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