Good Old Shepherd's Pie

You won’t believe this one until you try it - nothing short of sensational, I would say. Everybody loves shepherd’s pie, but few have the time to make it… until now!

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Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 200°C. Start by heating the oil in a largish frying-pan till very hot, add the onion, carrot and swede and cook them for about 5 minutes, keeping the heat high, to colour a bit at the edges, stirring them around. After that, combine the vegetables with the minced lamb, thyme, cinnamon and some seasoning and transfer the whole lot to an 18cm square baking dish (or similar). Next, arrange the potato discs on top, slightly overlapping. The leeks should be cut vertically to halfway down and fanned out under cold, running water to remove any dirt, then sliced through to the bottom, then across very finely. Sprinkle the leeks all over the potato and follow that with the grated Cheddar. Then put it into the oven for 35-40 minutes, till the top is crusty and golden.Let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving – a bag of ready-shredded spring greens would go down a treat with this. Note: for cottage pie, a 400g tin of M&S minced beef is every bit as good. If you use ready-prepared swede and carrot from elsewhere, it may be in larger chunks, which need to be chopped a bit smaller in the mini-chopper.