Shepherd's Pie

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Mashed Potatoes

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Peel the potatoes and cut into similar-size pieces.

   PeelerKnifeCutting board
3. 3
   Cook the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water covering it by about 2 cm, 20–25 minutes from the boil, until a fork goes into it easily.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStoveSmall saucepan
4. 4
   Drain and return them to the hot pot over low heat for a minute: the excess moisture evaporates.

   ColanderStove
5. 5
   Heat the milk and butter to just below boiling.

   StoveSmall saucepan

   💡The milk and butter go in hot and in small portions: cold liquid cools the mash, and too much liquid makes it runny.
6. 6
   Mash the potatoes with a hand masher, gradually adding the milk and butter, until there are no lumps.

   Masher

   💡Mash by hand, not in a food processor or blender: the blades release starch and the mash turns gluey.
7. 7
   Season with salt and stir briefly.

For the Meat sauce

1. 8
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 9
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 10
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
4. 11
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
5. 12
   Add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove

   💡Add a pinch of sugar or half a grated carrot to a tomato sauce. The natural sugar balances the acidity. Do not add baking soda: it changes the texture and the taste.
6. 13
   Serve hot 0.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡The slower the sauce cooks, the thicker it gets and the better the flavors blend. 20–30 minutes make a quick meat sauce; an hour and a half to two hours over low heat make a rich Bolognese.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 14
   Transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and level it.

   Baking pan
8. 15
   Cover the meat with a layer of mashed potatoes and furrow the top with a fork.

   💡Spread the mash over the meat carefully, so the layers don't mix.
9. 16
   Bake 25 minutes, until the mash turns golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.