Perfection is a lot of little things done well. You can’t just throw everything in a pan and expect it to be delicious. The secret to simple classics like cottage pie or shepherd’s pie is the method. You have to do everything in stages and take each stage slowly. It helps to have a picture in your mind of what you’re trying to achieve. This way, I can almost taste it already.
Method
1. The first job is to fry off the meat in a hot frying pan with just a little oil. Once the pan is smoking hot, in goes the beef. Before it browns, the meat will release its water content. Allow that to evaporate. Only then can you get true caramelisation – and therefore, flavour – into the mince. Otherwise, it’s just boiled beef. The problem is many people don’t cook the mince for long enough.
2. Transfer the beef to a sieve to strain off the fat.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil until they have just a little colour.
4. Return the beef to the pan, stir in the flour and tomato purée, then add the Worcester sauce.
5. Add the Knorr Beef Stock Pot diluted in approximately 350ml of water. Add the bay leaf and fresh thyme. Bring it the boil.
6. Transfer the contents to a casserole pan and simmer it slowly with the lid on at 140°C, Gas Mark 1, for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Never allow time to dictate the finished result. If it needs another 15 minutes, let it have another 15 minutes. The mince should be not too wet, not too dry, so when the potato is added, it doesn’t sink.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the mashed potato. Instead of using boiled potatoes, I prefer to use cooked potato flesh scooped from baked potatoes. Because they haven’t been cooked with water, the finished result won’t end up being wet. It takes a little more effort but the results are worth it. Alternatively, you could boil the potatoes, then dry them in a colander on a tray in the oven. I mash my potatoes using a potato ricer to get smoother results, then gradually introduce hot milk, followed by an egg yolk and softened butter or olive oil. There’s no need to season the potato as the meat will be seasoned quite enough.
8. Another job you can do while the mince is cooking is to blanch the diced root vegetables for about 12 minutes. Root vegetables work very well with shepherd’s or cottage pie but you could add peas if you prefer; I’ve used swede and carrot. There’s no recipe for this step – just add as little or as many vegetables as you like.
9. Take the mince out of the oven and add the blanched root vegetables, removing the bay leaf when you find it. Transfer the mix to a pie dish and pat it down. Distribute the creamed potato evenly over the top using a spatula knife and smooth if off. Create a design on the surface using a fork dipped in a little milk.
10. Now it’s ready for baking for about 15 minutes in a hot oven at 180°C, Gas Mark 4. The top of the pie should be golden brown.
11. All that’s left to do now is brush the top with a little oil to give it some sheen.
