Shepards Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 200g lean minced Beef
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 1 beef stock cube
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 6 large potatoes
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon (or more) fresh mixed herbs, parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme (dried will do)

METHOD

1. Wash, peel and cut the potatoes, not too small or they go too watery. Put them into a saucepan to boil.
2. Peel and dice the onion, heat a little oil in another saucepan and add onion, salt and pepper saute until soft
3. Peel the carrots and cut into small dice, add to the pan
4. Wash and cut the celery into small dice, add to the pan
5. Peel and crush the garlic, add this and the herbs to the pan.
6. Put on the oven to pre-heat at 190oC
7. Add the mince and stir well until turned from red to brown, drain any fat or water that appears.
8. Add the tomatoes and puree and bring to the boil. lower and simmer until the veg are soft.
9. Drain the potatoes, add the oil and mash well
10. Put the meat and veg mixture into an ovenproof dish, then gently put the mashed potatoes in a layer on top of it, spread it carefully with a fork then put into the oven for 15mins or until the top is golden brown.

The tomato puree is full of the carotenoid lycopene I mentioned in the previous post and is more easily absorbed than raw unprocessed tomatoes, the olive oil also helps this absorption, but butter would do the same job, I just prefer the taste of olive oil.