Cottage pie

Ingredients

• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 2carrots, finely diced
• 2 stickcelery, finely diced
• 1 2/3 lbground beef, not too lean
• 2 tbspall-purpose flour
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 2 1/8 cupsbeef stock
• 2bay leaves
• 2 tspsea salt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 2.6 lbpotatoes, floury, such as Maris Piper, cut into chunks
• 2 3/4 ozunsalted butter
• 3/8 cupwhole milk, warmed
• 2 ozCheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. 1

   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion, carrots and celery gently until soft and sweet but not browned.

2. 2

   Turn the heat up, add the ground beef, and cook it hard, breaking it up, until it has stopped releasing liquid and has properly browned in places rather than just turned gray.

3. 3

   Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then add the tomato paste, the Worcestershire sauce, the beef stock, the bay leaves, the salt and the pepper. Simmer uncovered until thick enough that a spoon drawn across the base leaves a clear trail.

4. 4

   Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until they fall apart on a knife, drain them thoroughly and let the steam escape, then mash with the butter and the warm milk until smooth. Season well.

5. 5

   Let the filling cool for a few minutes, spread it in a baking dish, then spoon the mash over in blobs and join them up before spreading. Rough the surface up with a fork and scatter the Cheddar over.

6. 6

   Heat the oven to 400°F and bake until the top is deep golden and the filling is bubbling up around the edges. Let it stand for ten minutes before serving.