Pure Mountain Easy Shepherd’s Pie

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Mash: Combine all mash ingredients until smooth and season to taste.

3. Meat filling: In a large stock pot, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrot, celery, red onion & sauté until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes or so). Add beef and brown for a further 5 – 10 minutes, using the back of your cooking spoon to break up the meat. Add tomato puree, chickpeas, beef stock, mixed herbs, Worcestershire sauce & bring to a boil. Simmer until the sauce has thickened & season with salt & black pepper to taste.

4. Assembly: Pour meat into a baking tray and flatten it into a single layer. Dollop mash over and spread with a spoon. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until mash has slightly browned. Brush top with butter, sprinkle with fresh parsley & serve hot!

Precooking tips

To prepare the chickpeas, soak overnight for at least 8 hours in salted room temperature water and rinse before use. Pressure cook for about 12 – 15 minutes or boil on the stove for about 30 – 40 minutes. Unsoaked chickpeas will take between 90 minutes to 2 hours to boil on the stove and about 30 minutes in the pressure cooker.

If you want to skip this step you can boil them in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes and then leave them in the boiling water for 1hr.