Shepherd’s pie

Serves 4-6 You will need: 50g butter 2 onions, chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 kg minced lamb, not too lean, or cooked lamb left over from a roast, minced (also see note, below) 250ml lamb or chicken stock 2 tablespoons roux (for quantities and method, see chicken pie recipe, below left) 1-2 tablespoons Ballymaloe Country Relish, or a similar tomato-based relish Mashed potatoes made with 1kg potaotes (see recipe, right) Garlic butter, to serve (see recipe, below right) 1 Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the chopped onions and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper or a disc of greaseproof paper, and a lid. Cook on a gentle heat until the onions are completely soft but not coloured. 2 Add the mince, increase the heat and cook, stirring regularly, for a few minutes, until the meat changes colour. Pour in the lamb stock or the chicken stock, whichever you are using, and bring to the boil. Decrease the heat, cover the saucepan with a lid, and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the meat is tender, taking care not to let it burn on the bottom (alternatively, you can put the saucepan into the oven at 160°C, 325°F, Gas 3). 3 Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4. Strain the liquid off the meat, pour it into another saucepan and bring it back up to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon of the roux and whisk until the juices have thickened. Whisk in more roux if it isn’t thick enough. Pour the thickened juices back in with the meat. Add the relish and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 4 Pour the meat filling into a large pie dish or into individual dishes, whichever you’re using. Put the mashed potatoes on top, score with a fork and put into the preheated oven for 15-25 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Serve with a few discs of garlic butter melting on top. Note:

You can replace the lamb with minced beef (for a cottage pie) or with cooked chopped duck meat.