If I were a journalist

I love making shepherds pie at home, it’s a favourite winter comfort food of mine. It therefore felt only right I share the joy of this classic British dish with my fine American friends. Especially since “shepherds pie” over here tends to mean beef not lamb! Even Cheesecake Factory make this fatal mistake on their menu. Guys, that makes it cottage pie not shepherds! Have you ever seen a shepherd herding beef? Thought not. The clue is in the name.

Anyway, to make 4 hearty portions of my mean shepherds pie, you’ll need:

• 1lb of ground/minced lamb (or locally slaughtered mutton in my case)
• 2 tins of tomatoes (or one large diced tomatoes if you’re American)
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree/paste
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp of rosemary
• handful of fresh mint or 1 tsp of dried mint
• 5 potatoes
• 4 carrots

Method:

1. Fry the onions and lamb together until they are both nicely browned. Don’t let the all the juice dry out from the pan.
2. Add tomatoes, garlic and herbs.
3. Let the sauce cook down for 30 minutes on a low heat, boil potatoes and carrots in the meantime.
4. Add tomato puree/paste to thicken. Pour sauce into casserole/baking dish.
5. Mash potatoes and carrots. Layer an inch of mash over the entire sauce surface. Use a fork to make pretty peaks.
6. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes at 380F or alternatively under the grill, until nicely browned.

Serve with buttered cabbage (cook cabbage for a few minutes, leave a bit crunchy and add lashings of butter) and broccoli or a veg of your choice.