I was inspired byt the British classics, Shepherd’s pie, cottage pie and Cumberlandpie and I combined elements of all into a Gardeninglady pie
Serves4:
500grams beef mince
4 tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes
1 big onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 red bell pepper
2-3 carrots
2 stocks of celery
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 small tin of tomato pure
1 bayleaf
1 liter of beef stock (from cubes is fine)
Thyme to taste
Salt and pepper
Oil for pan and ovendish
200grams of mushrooms
125ml of red wine
For the mash:
1 kilo of floury potatoes
Nutmeg
100ml milk
Breadcrumbs
150grams Grated cheese of your choice
Method:
Boil the potatoes with salt, drain and set aside.
Clean and chop all the vegetables.
Heat oil in a casserole style pan and brown the mince.
When brown take it from the pan and let drain.
Add some more oil to the same pan and add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bellpepper, thyme and bayleaf and let soften on a low heat for about 20 minutes with the lid on the pan.
In a separate pan brown the mushrooms on high heat until all water has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden brown.
Add the flour and tomato pure and cook it for about 2 minutes.
Deglaze the pan by adding the wine, let alcohol evaporate for a minute or two then add the stock.
Return the meat to the pan.
Add mushrooms to the casserole pan, add the tomatoes and let simmer fora bout 20minutes until sauce has thickened.
The sauce has to be really thick or the mash won’t float on top
Mash the potatoes, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, add a splash of milk if needed.
I use a spoon, but you could use a piping bag for a neat result, I prefer spooning it on to get all those lovely edges that crisp up.
Oil an ovenproof dish and ladle mince sauce into it.
Cover with the mash and add texture with a fork.
Cover with breadcrumbs and cheese.
Heat oven to 180degrees Celsius.
Bake the pie until the mash is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Recipe and photos Gardeninglady