450g Potatoes (judging this yourself is good practice, pick out of the bag what you think to be 4 servings)
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
2 Large Carrots (diced)
400g Minced Beef
75g Frozen Peas
2 Beef Stock Cubes
2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
250ml Hot Lamb Stock
Worcestershire Sauce, Tomato Sauce and Brown Sauce
A Splash of Oil
Milk
A Knob of Butter
100g Grated Cheese (cheddar is perfect for this)
Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Frying Pan/Wok
1 Large Pan
4 Little Oven Dishes (the size you get in restaurants when you order something like this)
OR
1 Large Oven Dish
1 Grater
The Good Bit
- Start by cutting your potatoes into bite size pieces then cooking in a large pan of salted water for 10 mins (or microwave in a covered pan without water for about the same length of time) Check the tatties with a fork, if they break easily then they'll be fine to mash if not cook a little longer (if you microwave, shake them around in the covered pan and if they break on the side and lid then hey presto!)
- Meanwhile fry the onion in a little oil in the frying pan until it's golden and soft then add the meat and carrot and cook until the meat is all brown, at this point add all four stock cubes well crumbled to the frying pan and stir in well before adding a good splash of each of the sauces, the lamb stock and the frozen peas, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- You should now have a little time on your hands to mash the potatoes. Drain the water and get busy! if you've cooked the potatoes long enough this should be relatively easy, once they are fairly well mashed add in a good knob of butter and a splash of milk, keep mashing until you have a fairly thick but smooth consistency, if it's like concrete then add another splash of milk, again it's easier to ad more milk if needed than to take out!
- At this point you have a choice, mix the cheese in with the mash or serve on top? it's up to you! (why not split half and half?) Serve your meat into your pie dish/dishes and top with the mash then put in an oven for 30mins 210c 410f, serve when ready! (enjoy those flavours, it's a bit of a long dish to do but well worth it, maybe do this on a sunday!)
