Pages

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie or Cottage Pie, as it is sometimes known, is another dish of the top three I would say are traditional Australian dishes. I apologise for the photo below but I hate the yellow kitchen bench I have so didn't want it in the photo this time.

I made this last night and it is one of the simplest dishes to make. I'm all about making things quicker and easier and not necessarily from scratch because we all work right?! Whether you're a mum, a plumber or a lawyer (and a mum), I feel I truly enjoy cooking the fiddly, complicated things only when I have time otherwise it's all about feeding the masses as quick as possible.

For this dish you will need 500g lean mince, one onion, two medium carrots, a cup of peas, five potatoes (approx), a bit of milk and butter for mashing and a packet of Maggi or Shepherds Pie mix.

1. Turn oven on to 200 degrees Celsius / 390 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Put oil in an electric frypan and brown the mince
3. Drain the fat from the frypan and brown the onion
4. Return the mince to the pan with the onion and add the cup of peas and diced carrots (sometimes I put the peas and carrots in the microwave first to cook them and make it even quicker)
5. Pour 250ml water into a measuring jug and mix in the Shepherds Pie mix then pour into frypan with mince, onion, peas and carrots
6. Let simmer and cover for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Peel and dice potatoes and cook in microwave for around 5 minutes. Stir then cook for another 3 minutes (times will vary depending on the power of your microwave)
8. Add some milk and butter (depending on how you like it) and mash, mash, mash!
9. Put pie mixture into a casserole dish and smooth the top
10. Put potato mash on top of pie mixture. Smooth the top then lightly drag a fork across the top of the mash to rough it up and help it brown in the oven
11. Pop in oven for around 15-20 minutes or until peaks of mash are brown. Serve on its own or with some more vegetables

This is a great, hearty winter dish which I think would go well with a buttery Chardonnay if you happen to have one on hand.

Enjoy!

E x



2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm glad it looks alright. I was worried the bad pic might turn people off!

      Delete