The next morning the Dogg and I rose early as I was expecting to be a part of match number five of the truncated cricket season. I was set, for the second time in less than a month, to step up to our first team. It's a team captained by a chilled out, talented individual who is one of the best cricketers I've teamed with in the last decade.
However our opposition had clearly seen us coming as they declined to play us at the eleventh hour citing a fictitious monsoon, which was among the weaker excuses I have heard for teams bailing on us over the years.
This unexpected cancellation did give me the opportunity to work on some block cooking for the forthcoming, taxing working week. Shepherds' pie is certainly a good meal to block cook at weekends, freeze and then warm up during the week for tea.
My take on Shepherds' Pie includes both vegetarian and meat elements in the recipe as well as a spot of alcohol.
On the player was the Moody Blues' sixth album from 1971 "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour". One of their strongest records, it is doused with glistening mellotron interludes, eclectic song writing, the Avant Garde and the odd piece of searing guitar. Have a listen at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8a8cutYP7foJnkLyB_gs_5GTs3Nekh7h
The ingredients of this recipe are as follows:
For the filling:
- 2 diced cloves of Garlic.
- 5 Chive Sprigs sliced into small pieces.
- 15 Rosemary Leaves.
- 1 teaspoon of Celery Salt.
- 1 teaspoon of White Pepper.
- 1 gram of Tomato Puree.
- 7 Carrots, topped, tailed, peeled and then cut into small cubes.
- 3 White Onions, topped. tailed peeled and finely diced.
- 3 Celery sticks, de-stringed and cut into small pieces.
- 8 ounces of Frozen Peas.
- 12 ounces of Vegetarian Mince.
- A pint of Black Sheep Ale.
- A quarter of a pint of Gravy made with one Beef Stock Cube and around 2 ounces of Corn Flour.
For the topping:
- 10 medium-sized Red Potatoes and White Potatoes, peeled and cubed.
- 2 ounces of Dried Thyme.
The method goes like this:
1. Shallow fry in Sunflower Oil in a Le Cresceut the Garlic, Chives, Rosemary, Celery Salt, White Pepper, Tomato Puree, Carrots, White Onions and Celery Sticks for around fifteen minutes.
2. Add the Ale and shallow fry for another five minutes.
3. Add the Frozen Peas, Vegetarian Mince and simmer for around twenty minutes or until the ale is fully absorbed.
4. Add the Gravy and then take the Le Cresceut off the heat leaving the filling of the pie to cool down.
5. Steam the Potatoes until they are soft and then mash them with the Dried Thyme.
6. Grease an ovenproof dish with Margarine and spread the filling evenly throughout the dish. Top the filling up the mashed potato being sure to spread this evenly to create the topping. One good tip to get a level topping is to use a fork to spread the Mashed Potato evenly.
7. Cook the pie in the oven on Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes.
Some of you might be surprised as to why I've used a Beef Gravy in what is essentially a vegetarian dish. However this Gravy together with the Ale and the herbs gave this dish a richness and flavour to elevate it above your standard Shepherds' Pie.
