Highland Shepherd’s Pie

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

         1 lb (453g) lean steak mince
         1 large onion (diced)
         2 medium sized carrots (chopped)
         6 green beans/runner beans (chopped)
         3 baby sweet corn (chopped)
         ½ pint (0.24 ltr) beef stock
         1 glass red wine (optional)
         1 ½ lb (750g) mashing potatoes
         1 table spoon tomato ketchup
         1 table spoon tomato puree
         2 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
         2 table spoons veg oil
         ½ oz butter
         Splash of milk or double cream
         Salt & ground black pepper to season

 

Preparation:

Add the oil to a hot saucepan, then put in the minced beef and the chopped onion. Stir around for about ten minutes until the mince is browned.

Add the wine, herbs puree and ketchup, stirring gently for 5 minutes.

Add the complete mix into the slow cooker, along with the carrots, beans, baby sweet corn and hot beef stock. Add salt and pepper to season

Cook for 8 hours on a low heat.

When cooked, transfer the mixture to a suitable size pie dish.

Next, boil up the potatoes for approx. 20-25 minutes, until soft and mash-able. Add the butter, and a splash of cream then mash the potatoes thoroughly to remove any lumps.

The mash must be a spreadable consistency so that you can now spread the mashed potatoes over the mixture in the pie dish.

Smooth over with the underside of a spoon, or pipe the mash on to decorate.

Put in a hot oven for around 40 minutes at 180 C (356 F) until the top is a light brown in colour.

For a fantastically tasty cheesy topping, simply add some grated cheese to your mashed potatoes, and sprinkle some on top of the dish before adding to the oven

 

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