Step 1

Cook the Filling:

Step 1

Add the oil to a large pan and place it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.

Step 2

Add the onions. sauté 5 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.

Step 3

Add the minced beef (or minced lamb) to the pan and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated from the meat and the fond starts to form on the bottom of the pan.

Step 4

Add the carrots and continue sautéing to develop flavours, remove from pot and reserve.

Step 5

Add the thickening of flour and tomato paste. Stir until well incorporated and no clumps of tomato paste remain.

Step 6

Deglazed with the stock, ensuring all the fond is dissolved. Add the previously sautéed vegetables to the mince and add the Worcestershire sauce spices and herbs.

Step 7

Cover with a lid and cook slowly on a low heat until the meat is tender. You can use a slow cooker for this stage in a pressure cooker on high for 10mins if you want to speed things up.

Step 8

Add the frozen peas. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally the mixture constancy should be quite firm not runny.

Step 9

Remove the bay leaves and discard. Set the meat mixture aside to cool ideally in the fridge over night. (You can store it in the final baking dish ready for assembling the pie).

Step 10

Prepare the Mashed Potatoes:

Step 1

Important:

Step 1

You want to prepare the mash just before you assemble the pie to help in the piping it will be easier to pipe if warm.

Step 2

Gently boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes we don’t want wet mushy potatoes. Drain and return to the pot.

Step 3

First loosely mash the potatoes it releases steam then add butter and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (I don’t use cream or milk the cheese provides the moisture).

Step 4

Coarse grate the cheddar cheese, and fine grate the Parmesan cheese. Add both the cheddar and parmesan cheese to the potatoes and fully combine until it forms a smooth paste (I use a spatula), when the mash begins to cool add the beaten egg and combine well with the topping it will be cream like ready for piping not a dry mash.

Step 5

Important:

Step 1

The mash should be warm for the piping stage or it will be difficult to pipe so don’t prepare the mash until ready to assemble the pie.

Step 2

Assemble the pie:

Step 1

Preheat oven on a top grill mode to 210 degrees C.

Step 2

Spoon the cooled meat mixture into a baking dish spread it out into an even layer.

Step 3

Spoon the first layer of mashed potatoes about 2/3 of the mixture on top of the cooled meat. Leaving room for the piped potato topping. (This forms a layer and prevents the mash from combining with any juices of the filling. This is why the filling needs to be cold and firm.)

Step 4

Pipe the remaining 1/3 mash in rows with a fluted nozzle the remaining mash over the potatoes or if you don’t like the idea of piping simply mark ridges with a fork.

Step 5

There is no need to add anything to the top of the piped mash, ie melted butter or egg glaze you can add another dusting of Parmesan cheese if you want but I don’t.

Step 6

If the baking dish looks very full, place it on a rimmed baking sheet so that the filling doesn’t bubble over into your oven (it shouldn’t if you followed the instructions.) Bake on the upper rack uncovered until the piped potatoes start to take colour, rotate the dish to ensure an even browning. (Keep an eye on this as it can over cook very quickly.)

Step 7

Once the topping has an almost even browning drop the pie to a lower rack and reduce the temperature to 165 degrees C for around 25-30 minutes this heats the filling without over browning the topping. If you cook the full dish on high the filling may boil over and ruin the piping.

Step 8

Cool for 15 minutes before serving.