Traditional Recipe for Shepherd’s Pie

 Ingredients

• 25 ml. cooking oil
• 2 medium sized onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium sized carrots, scraped and finely chopped
• 900 g minced beef
• 125 ml warm beef stock
• 25 ml tomato sauce
• 10 ml Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 ml dried basil
• 25 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped

For the topping:

• 750 g potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 125 ml warm milk
• Salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
• 2 teaspoons margarine

Preparation

1. Heat oil in saucepan and fry onions until tender. Add the celery and carrots and stir-fry for another five minutes.

2. Add meat and brown. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce heat and add the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley. Cover and allow simmering for about 30 minutes.

4. In the meantime, cook the potatoes until tender and drain thoroughly. Put in bowl and mash it, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Beat in 1 tablespoon margarine.

5. Pour meat mixture into greased oven dish and cover it with the mashed potatoes.

6. Dot the topping with the remaining margarine.

7. Bake at 190 ⁰C (375 ⁰F) for about 15 minutes. Then grill for about 10 minutes to brown the topping.