Red Sky At Night, Shepherd’s (Pie) Delight

Hello and Happy New Year. I planned to let January pass me by, to enable us to take stock and regroup; however, I had an idea for a Tom Eats! piece. To maintain symmetry, I thought we'd chuck in a recipe as well.

Yes, more pie. And why not? January is for comfort food. In a recent Tom Eats! I praised a shepherd's pie which was served at The Bailie in Edinburgh's Stockbridge. It occurred to me that I'd never made one. Here is my version. Truth be told it was better than the reviewed version. Upscale the ingredients accordingly and ca' canny (be careful) with the cumin. An absolute lesson that you can always add but you can't take away.

Shepherd's Pie (serves 2 - 3)

500g lamb mince; 2 small onions, finely chopped; 3 small carrots, peeled and very finely chopped; 1 clove garlic, crushed; about 1 level tsp ground cumin; about 250ml red wine; about 250ml stock (chicken or beef); squeeze of tomato purée; 1 bay leaf; olive oil; enough mashed potato to cover (I used about 4 large Maris Pipers); butter; s & p.

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The order of events doesn't much matter. In an ideal world, as with any pie, you would allow the filling to get cold before adding the topping. With tattie, it really isn't that important.

You don't need me to tell you how to make mashed potato. If you're being posh (ie with visitors) you would use a ricer. If it's just for L and me I tend just to use the basic masher. (What's a lump or two when you're celebrating thirty years together?) What's important is that you use lots of butter, salt and pepper.

For the filling, sweat the onion and carrot in olive oil with the garlic and some s & p. Chuck in the lamb mince. Increase the heat, break up the mince and turn from time to time until the mince is coloured all over. Add a good squeeze of tomato puree, probably about a tablespoon. Add the wine and increase the heat. Let the wine bubble for a few minutes, then pour in the stock and add the cumin and the bay leaf. You want it to bubble fairly vigorously. The idea is that at the same time the meat and veg are cooked, the liquid will have reduced to the consistency you want for your pie. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Allow to cool. Transfer to a pie dish. On telly you'll see the poncy chefs put the mash into a bag and pipe it over the top. No need. Spoon on generous chunks and spread evenly with a fork.

Preheat your oven to 200C/Mark 6. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 68˚C.

Even by my standards this is wonderful. L, my arch critic, agrees. A fine dish for a cold January night.

Tom Eats! will be back in February