Food for the flock.

I am a firm believer in the significance of eating together. Whether it's around a dinner table with the family following a busy week, or perhaps a first date that'll take you on an unrelenting rollercoaster; people come together over food. At least that's how it is for me, and the people around me. I've made some good friends over the dinner table, but what I really love about food is that I've made some great friends around the stove.

For the first time last night, my brother and I prepared a Shepherd's Pie. In fact, for the first time ever last night, we prepared a meal together. A statement such as this would usually be followed by 'without messing it up,' 'without arguing,' or 'without serious knife inflictions.' Alas, this was the first meal we prepared together, period. This may not strike the average reader as an obscurity, but coming from a family that always encouraged us as children to cook, I think it is a little out of sorts.

What struck me was how easy it was too. Perhaps I'm giving a bad impression of the relationship I have with my brother, but that's not my intention I assure you, but having both been away from home for such a long time, this was a good opportunity for the two of us to catch up.

Now I'm told that a Shepherd's pie should be made with lamb - hence the name, and once made with beef is known as a cottage pie.  Nonetheless, my brother and I have always called it shepherd's pie, even with mince beef.  I feel it's apt to demonstrate that here.

Shepherd's Pie.

What better way to catch up than over some good, homely food?

Ingredients.

Lean mince beef

Onions

Veg - in this case, we used peas, carrots and green beans

Olive oil

Plain flour

450 ml of Beef stock

Potatoes

Milk

Butter

Cheese

Method.

In an oven-proof casserole-dish, fry the onions in the oil until they turn translucent, or, if you like your onions a bit chunkier, as I often do, wait until they brown at the edges, and then pop the mince in the pan to brown as well.

Stir in a tablespoon of flour, soaking up all the juices to produce a rather unattractive, stodgy looking concoction.  

Add salt, pepper, thyme and a bay leaf too, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock at this point, stir it all together and then add the veg.

(Sometimes I'll add a bottle of ale here instead of the stock, it makes for an amazing aroma and really warms the heart!)

Allow this to simmer on the hob for another 20 minutes or so on a medium heat, reducing the mix.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  You want to be able to slide a knife into them without too much force, but without them falling to pieces either.  I find this normally takes about 15-20 mins.

Drain the water, and returning the potatoes to a low heat, add a good nob of butter and small dash of milk and begin to mach and mix together.  A good pinch of salt, and another of pepper does the trick here too.  (Incidentally, this is how I make all my mash, maybe with a bit of mustard and cheese mixed in too.)

Taking the meat off the heat, cover the mixture with the mashed potatoes nice and evenly, using a fork to spread the mash out.  Top with cheese, and put on a preheated oven at about 180°C until the pie turns nice and crispy.

This is a very simple recipe, but tastes so good, it seemed to be a perfect way to start this blog.  Let me know what you think!