Cottage/ Shepherds Pie

Ingredients:
Meat Layer
500g beef or lamb
1 x large onion
dried sage
1 x bay leaf
1 tablespoon x plain flour (optional) or a couple of chunks of boiled potato
1 x table spoon of marmite or bovril
1 x glug of sherry
black pepper
1 x beef stock cube in half pint of hot water
1 x small glug of worcester sauce or soy sauce or balsamic vinegar

Potato Layer
3 x large potatoes (Maris Piper is a good masher)
1 x glug of milk
1 x large dollop of butter
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt


Utensils:
peeler
large knife
2 x saucepans
colander
wooden spoon
masher
heat proof dish(es)


Method:
1. Put kettle on to boil.
2. Peel and chop potatoes into 3cm chunks (quite small).
3. Put saucepan on high heat, fill with boiling water and add potato chunks. Boil for 12 minutes.
4. As potatoes boil, finely chop onion
5. Put second saucepan onto a medium heat, add a glug of oil. When saucepan is hot add onion and saute until transparent and soft.
6. Add meat,  black pepper, sage and bay leaf and cook until there are no pink bits.
7. Drain in the colander
8. Return to pan and then add beef stock, marmite, worcester sauce, sherry. Simmer for 20 minutes.
9. If mixture is runny, mix flour in a cup with a little hot water until it is a runny smooth paste. Add to meat mixture to thicken. OR add couple of pieces of boiled potato. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
10. When the potatoes have boiled, drain, add milk and butter, salt and nutmeg and mash.
11. Add meat sauce to heat proof dish.
12. Add potato in dollops around the edge of the pie. This will make sure there is a seal between the top and bottom of the pie. Add rest of potato to the middle, smooth over then run a fork over the surface to texture it.
13. Put in a medium oven (180  degrees) for 20 minutes
14. Wash saucepans whilst pie is cooking so that they don't go crusty (not being extra, it's just that you won't be arsed if you leave it until you've eaten the pie)


Variations

• add diced carrots, swede or turnip when you add the stock and sherry
• add some paprika and chilli to meat layer to spice it up
• use sweet potato instead of potato or do a mixture of both
• make small ones and freeze