Most of my recipes have no measurements. I’m told the best recipes don’t either. So bear with me!

My signature dish is Shepherd’s Pie. Technically, it’s Cottage Pie because I rarely use lamb in mine, but I digress.

Tools needed: large skillet, stock pot or saucepan, casserole dish, sheet pan, whisk, spatula, piping bag (optional)

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I’m not going to go over the mashed potatoes, I think you can figure those out on your own. Just make sure you have the potatoes smashed up fairly well before you even think about adding milk. Milk should be added, sparingly, at the end to achieve the consistency you want.

So the mince. Put a large skillet on the stove, medium heat. Dice your onion and garlic. Add a dash of olive oil to the hot pan, then toss in your garlic and onion. Let them cook for about a minute, then add the ground beef. With a spatula, flatten the beef into one large patty as best you can. Add a big pinch each of rosemary and thyme, making sure to rub the leaves between your hands to release the fragrance and flavor of the dried herbs. Add a little salt and pepper, and slowly brown the meat. After a few minutes, divide the patty into smaller patties, and flip to brown the other side, adding a few dashes of Worcestershire and a splash or two of the red wine. When the meat is almost done, drain the fat, and begin mincing up the beef. (The meat is going to continue to cook after you do this, so it doesn’t need to be completely cooked) Add more Worcestershire (at least 1/4 C) and a little more red wine, along with enough beef stock to almost cover the top of the meat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer while you dice up your carrots. Taste your meat mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary to suit your palate. Stir in your carrots and peas (if using) and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced to about half.

Now you’re going to need a roux to thicken the sauce. Melt your butter and slowly whisk in 1/2 C flour, adding a little at a time. You want to end up with a roux that won’t run off your whisk when you lift it from the bowl. Add small amounts of flour as necessary.

This is very important: bring the meat slurry up to a boil. If you don’t, you will end up with a nasty raw flour taste in the meat. Once you’ve got decent bubbling going on, add a half a whisk full of roux to the mixture, and whisk in to distribute, then continue to stir for a minute or two. Pay attention to what’s going on with your sauce. Is it thickening? Give it a minute, and watch what it does. Give it a few more turns with the whisk. If it’s not thickening up, add more roux, and continue the process until you’ve got a good gravy look to it. Taste it again, and season if needed. Turn your burner off, and move the skillet to another burner. Leave it alone.

If you haven’t already made your mashed potatoes, do that now. The more you make this recipe, the easier it will be for you to cook both simultaneously. Potatoes take about 15 minutes to cook (less if you dice them smaller). If you’re going to pipe your mash onto the top, fill your piping bag now.

Transfer your meat mixture into the casserole dish, filling just over halfway. Use an additional casserole dish if necessary. Spread your mashed potatoes over the top (or pipe on) so that they almost come up to the top of the dish. Place your casserole dish on top of the sheet pan. If you’ve piped the mash, put everything in the oven, and cook for about 1/2 hour – you want the tips of the potatoes to start to color slightly, remove, top with cheese, and put back in until the cheese is bubbly. If you didn’t pipe the mash, top with the cheese, and put into the oven. Leave in for 1/2 hour or so, until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

DON’T FORGET THE SHEET PAN under the casserole dish. It will catch the sauce that will inevitably bubble over.

A few notes about this recipe.

• Your carrots should still be slightly crunchy. They will add a nice texture to the dish.
• If you don’t like rosemary or thyme, don’t use it. I won’t be insulted. I’ve tailored the dish to my own tastes. Add or remove ingredients as you see fit. Just make sure you are tasting it… a LOT while you’re making it.
• Feel free to mix in some minced lamb (or even substitute it completely for the beef)