I do like Shepherd’s Pie because it is so easy to make and a very comforting and warming meal to come home to on a wintry night.  This recipe freezes well so you could batch cook a few if you want.

Ingredients:

• 500g minced beef
• 1 large onion chopped
• sunflower oil for frying
• HP sauce or similar
• 2 large handfuls of frozen peas
• seasoning
• Potatoes (general purpose type), about 6 fairly large ones
• margarine

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to about Gas Mark 7 (or ‘high’) for 20 minutes.
2. Whilst the oven is heating up take a frying pan and heat about 1 tsp of the oil and fry the onions until clear.  At this point add the meat and brown this too.  You may need to add another tsp of oil.  To keep the fat content down it helps to use a good quality non-stick pan.
3. Add seasoning to taste (it is so important to season meat or it can taste of nothing), and a good dollop of HP sauce.  If you prefer another similar type of sauce then by all means use that.  Add the peas too.  Cook the mince for about 15 minutes or so.
4. Take a wide baking dish and spoon in the mince.  I used a silicone one and sat it on a large metal baking tray for support.  (Silicone is great to use as it is so easy to clean but can be rather floppy and does need support – I once made a fruit crumble only for the silicone dish to flip up as I tried to get it out of the oven and it went all over the floor!)
5. Now peel and cook the potatoes until soft.  You can boil, steam, or microwave them whatever is easiest for you.  Once cooked (this should take about 15 minutes or so depending upon the density of your potatoes), place the potatoes into a big bowl and mash with a fork.  Season the potatoes and add a little margarine.  I only use about 2-3 tsps.  It is up to you if you want to use more.  Mash it all well with a fork again.
6. Spoon on …er..spoonfuls of mashed potato on top of the mince.  I don’t get fussed over making it all super neat and fancy.  Shepherd’s Pie is meant to be rustic and not like posh restaurant food.
7. Cover the Shepherd’s Pie with foil and bung in the oven no lower than the middle shelf but not right bang at the top!  Cook in the dish in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10-15 minutes to brown.  Lower the heat if need be.  (** If you are batch cooking then after the initial 25 minutes cooking do not cook the dish any further as you will want to do this when you reheat it).
8. Serve the Shepherd’s Pie straight away.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of cous cous (amend, see 1.)
• onion
• 1kg cubed meat, or mince meat (I like to use beef)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 chopped red chilli (or use curry powder if you hate chilli)
• 2 dried bay leaves (or 4 fresh)
• 1-2 whole garlic cloves
• seasoning
• oil to brown meat
• HP Sauce (optional)

Method:

1. In a bowl soak a packet of cous cous for 5-10 minutes, change the amounts depending upon the number of people you are cooking for. Then set aside.
2. In a large saucepan (with a lid), fry an onion in a little oil, then add about 1kg of cubed meat. I like to use beef. You can also use mince meat if you prefer. Brown the meat well.
3. Add a splash of water to stop the meat from catching. Then add seasoning (salt and pepper). Now comes the spicy part, add 1 chopped red chilli (remember the smaller the chilli the hotter it will be, however if you freeze any chilli it will become the same heat as the hottest chilli – be warned). Also add 1 can chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, whole garlic cloves, and a good dollop of HP or brown sauce! (Also if you hate chilli, then why not use curry powder?)
4. Cook the meat without the lid on, simmering away for 35 minutes. If you want you can add sliced carrots and cauliflower to bulk the dish out, this is optional. The meat needs to be almost cooked before the next stage. Now remember you may want to cook the meat for longer (perhaps 45-50 minutes), or use a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes.
5. Right, your meat is virtually cooked, and now you are ready to see to the cous-cous! Take a large sieve and place the cous cous in it. Then hang the sieve over the pan, so it does not touch the meat etc. Now put the lid on top of the sieve.
6. The cous cous will become really fluffy, because it is cooked in the steam of the dish, and takes on much of the flavours.
7. After 15-20 minutes, you ready to serve. Make a ‘filled circle’ of cous cous on the plate, then add a ‘mountain’ of meat and sauce on top! Deeeelicious!

This is how the finished flanken and roast beef roll looked straight from the oven! This is a very easy recipe to make and the results are fabulous – as confirmed by all at Casa Marge.
A note about the meat: how much meat you want to cook will depend on how many people you are cooking for (and how hungry they are!) When I bought the meat I had a look at what the butcher had on offer and decided on two small pieces of flanken and one large beef roll. You may find your butcher has a large piece of flanken and the rolls of meat are small. Use your own judgement. I would strongly suggest you ask the butcher about cooking times when buying the meat!

Ingredients:

• Roast beef roll (your butcher will prepare this for you)
• Flanken (ask your butcher for beef flank)
• Carrots (about 3-4 large ones)
• Onion (large)
• Prunes (I used a 250g packet, but you might want to use less)
• Bay leaf (1 or 2 dried, or 3 fresh – again you may want to use less if you are cooking less meat)
• Rosemary (about a teaspoon of dried herb or a sprig of fresh)
• Oil to brown the meat
• Seasoning
• Honey (I used 3 tbps for a large beef roll and two pieces of flanken, adjust accordingly)
• Balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp) optional
• HP sauce (1 tbsp) optional
• Two cloves of garlic (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to a high heat for 20 minutes.
2. Season the meat to taste. I like to use coarse sea salt at it doesn’t ‘disappear’ into the meat straight away.
3. Heat the oil and brown the meat carefully, making sure you get all the surfaces sealed. Set the meat to one side. (NB: This process doesn’t actually seal the meat as such because after cooking you will notice the volume of the meat has decreased because it looses moisture. However it is good practice to brown the meat as it adds to the flavour).
4. Chop up the onion into slices and the carrot into batons, keeping the pieces fairly thick. Very lightly brown the vegetables in the same pan you did the meat in. You may need to add a little more oil. Place half the veg in the bottom of a large, deep pot (see pic above), or similar that is suitable for the oven. Add half the prunes and the garlic cloves (simply peeled and not cut), and herbs.
5. Place the meat in the pot on top of the veg and dried fruit. (You could use dried apricots if you wish but not raisins!), and add the rest of the veg and prunes. At this point if you wish you can add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and a splodge of HP sauce.
6. Mix the honey with a little water and pour over the meat.
7. Put the lid on the cooking pot (if you have no lid, then buy a proper oven pot you big silly! Or failing that use foil – just be careful when taking the pot out of the oven), and place in the top part of the oven – or as near to the top as you can bearing in mind the size of the cooking pot.
8. Cook on high for 1 hour and then turn the light down to medium and cook for another hour or so.
9. Naturally if you are using less meat you will need to lessen the cooking time. Personally I don’t hold with that pink in the middle nonsense about meat, so I like my meat well done. You may prefer it differently. Each to their own I say, even if you are weird…
10. Serve with potato kugel.
11. This dish will freeze well. Allow the meat and gravy (there will be loads of it!), to cool and transfer to large freezer bags or plastic freezer dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 minute steaks (beef)
• seasoning
• cider or balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. Take your grill pan and sprinkle on seasoning: sea salt & black pepper, chilli if you wish!
2. Place the minute steaks (or use thinly cut steaks) on the grill pan, and this time seasoning the meat. This method enables you to season both sides without any fuss.
3. Pour 2 tsps of the vinegar of your choice over each steak, (on one side only).
4. Grill the meat, turning once for about 4 minutes each side (this will depend on the thickness of the steaks – I am not one for bloodied meat, so I like my steak well done).
5. Serve immediately with a crisp green salad.

Ingredients:

• Potato (about 1 large potato per person)
• 3 large carrots
• celery sticks (3-5 depending upon size)
• 1/2kg beef chunks
• 1 large onion
• oil to brown meat
• garlic clove
• 2 dried bay leaves
• fresh thyme, rosemary and lovage (last herb optional)
• ketchup/brown sauce
• seasoning

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to a high heat for at least 15 minutes.
2. In a frying pan seal the roast beef (either a stringed roll, fillet, or large thick slab style steak – get the butcher to prepare the raw meat to make things easy), having first seasoned it, and use tongs to turn the meat around (not chopsticks as drunken college friends once tried to do!) Then set the meat aside.
3. ** Remember the amount of meat and veg you cook will alter the cooking time. For a small roast dinner for 2-3 people you will need to cook this dish for about 90 minutes. A big roast will take nearer 2 hours. If in doubt – ask your butcher when you buy the meat!
4. Slice a large onion, and lightly fry it until it goes ‘clear’. Then place half the onion into a self basting roaster, or onto a deep sided ‘open’ roasting tray.
5. Place the meat on top of the roasting dish, and add the herbs and garlic.
6. Peel and cut potato into medium slices (a non-floury type, such as Desirée or even new potatoes, or any other you like). Place the potatoes around the meat in the roasting dish.
7. Slice up a couple of carrots and do the same again. (If you want you can add celery and parsnip too.. but this is optional). Add about 4 mugfuls of water.
8. Cook the meat for about 90 minutes or 2 hours (depending how much meat you are using). During this time you can either smartly lay the table and put on your best bib and tucker, or veg out watching sport on TV!
9. Serve with Ice beer or sparkling spring water, and a nice quality horseradish sauce if desired.
10. If there is any meat leftover then it will go superbly in a sandwich the next day.