Cottage pie bake

Just the base or assembled

Serves 6 Prep 40 mins Cook 2 hrs 50 mins

1kg beef shin or feather blade, cut into

very large chunks

2-4 tbsp sunflower oil

200g bacon lardons

200g shallots, peeled

2 celery sticks, chopped

3 tbsp plain flour

2 beef stock cubes

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 each thyme sprigs and bay leaves

300g baby carrots

FOR THE MASH

1.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large

chunks

25g butter

85g mature cheddar, grated

100ml milk

2 tsp English mustard powder

1 In a large casserole dish or pan, brown the beef in the oil, in batches. Set aside. Add the lardons, shallots and celery to the dish or pan, and fry for 10 mins until softened and golden. Stir in the flour until absorbed, then crumble in the stock cubes and gradually stir in 1 litre water and the Worcestershire sauce. Add the herbs, return the beef to the dish with any juices, then cover and simmer for 1 hr. Add the carrots, re-cover and simmer for 1 hr more until the beef is really tender.

2 Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain, return to pan over a gentle heat and steam-dry for 2 mins.

Mash with the butter, cheese, milk, mustard powder and some seasoning.

3 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Strain the beef and veg into a large colander over a deep pan. Heat the sauce in the deep pan over a high heat for 5 mins to reduce. Shred the beef into chunky pieces and transfer to a baking dish with the veg and bacon, and some thickened sauce. Pipe or spoon on the mash. Bake for 30 mins until mash is golden and crisp.

4 The pie can be assembled and chilled for up to two days, or frozen for up to three months. If frozen, defrost thoroughly, then bake as above, but for 50 mins-1 hr.

PER SERVING 884 kcals, fat 53g, saturates 21g, carbs 54g, sugars 7g, fibre 5g, protein 49g, salt 2.3g