Cottage Pie

The endless dilemma: Cottage Pie or Shepherds' Pie. Common wisdom is that the former is made with minced beef the latter with minced lamb and I'm not going to argue with that. In any case my version would shock any cottager or shepherd! Amounts serve four with enough left over to make a pasta sauce for my next two lunches!

For a vegetarian option replace the mince with more beans or cooked lentils.

Ingredients:
400g minced beef
1 can tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 courgette
1/2 red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 carrots finely chopped
4 chestnut mushrooms chopped
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper

For the topping:
1 large parsnips
3-4 small potatoes
2 small Jerusalem artichokes (or more parsnips, potatoes, swede)
Knob of butter
Grated cheese
Grated nutmeg

Fry the mince in a little oil then add the onion, pepper, courgette and mushrooms. Fry for a bit longer then add the remaining ingredients bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
Cook the vegetables for the topping in plenty of salted water until soft then mash with the butter, cheese and nutmeg.

Put the sauce in a oven proof dish then cover with the mash and dot with butter and perhaps a little extra grated cheese.
Cook in hot oven until the top is golden brown and crispy.

Serve with green veg or a crispy salad.

Beef Casserole

One of my favourite dishes. This serves at least 4 possibly 6 if you add dumplings or a pile of mashed potatoes. Ingredients can be varied depending on what you have in the vegetable drawer. The red grape juice gives a wonderful sweet flavour.

Ingredients:
500g Beef in c.3cm chunks (braising steak, skirt or leg - I'm a skirt man myself!)
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 large leeks cleaned and sliced
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 bay leaves
6 juniper berries
3 parsnips in large chunks
4 medium carrots in chunks
A few dried mushrooms
Red grape juice (500ml-1ltr)
Handful of pearl barley
2-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of seasoned flour (Flour, mustard, salt, pepper, thyme)

Method:
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Coat the meat in the seasoned flour and brown in batches, lift out and keep warm. When all the meat is browned fry the leeks, onions and garlic. Add the root vegetables and stir to coat. Return the meat and add the pearl barley and bay leaves. Add enough grape juice to cover and the dried mushrooms.
Bring to the boil then cover and put in a low oven for 3-4 hours or until you can't take it any more. Examine occasionally, adding more grape juice or water if it looks a little dry.
Serve with horseradish dumplings or mashed potatoes or crusty bread. Make a big batch as it always tastes better the next day.