Ingredients
- 500gr Minced beef
- 500gr Minced chicken
- 2 Onionsfinely chopped
- 3 Carrotsfinely chopped
- 9 Garlic clovesminced
- 8 Basil leaves
- 5 Bay leaves
- 1 Knorr beef stock pot
- 2 tbsp Bovril (beef)
- 1 Knorr chicken cube
- 1/2 cup Red wine
- 5 tbsp Flour (plain)
- 3kg Potatoespeeled, diced
- 1 1/2 cups Milk (whole)
- 150gr Butter
- 2 Eggs (yolk)
- Fresh pepper
We can all agree that there’s nothing quite like mum’s food. And there’s no shepherd’s pie quite like my mama’s. It’s very rich so save it for a day when you really feel like going all the way. I change it up by adding 500gr of chicken mince to add more flavour. I made this last Saturday when I had a bit of time to play in the kitchen and I was planning on staying in to catch up with some paperwork. To add a festive flair to our dinner, we paired this with a glass of New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Steps
1 Done | In a large pot of water and a pinch of salt, I cooked the potatoes until very very soft. Once done, I drained the water and added the butter, whole milk (room temperature) and mashed it up using a fork or hand blender. Here is my secret trick: I crushed a chicken cube to the potato mash and seasoned with black pepper. |
2 Done | Then I heated some oil in a large deep pan on high heat and fried the onions until transparent and then the garlic. I have a killer American skillet for this stuff. |
3 Done | I added the beef and chicken mince to the pan, together with the carrots, basil and bay leaves. The show has really started now. The flavours start to work their magic. |
4 Done | Once mixed, I added the beef stock pot and Bovril, and seasoned with fresh black pepper. Mix well and add the red wine, here. I sprinkled the flour gently and stirred well. Then I let it simmer on low heat. |
5 Done | Once the meat mixture is done, I half-filled an oven dish leaving enough room for the potatoes. I gently poured the mashed potatoes using a wooden spoon, or piping bag if you feel like being fancy. |
6 Done | I then poured the beaten eggs to get that delicious browning effect going on. |
7 Done | Bake for about 40 minutes in a temperature of around 180C. |
