Shepards Pie

Its a blessing to be surrounded by family who appreciate and encourage me cooking for them.

This, like most the stuff I make, is a direct result of all the food and gourmet telly shows we end up watching at home.

So here's a result of the experimenting. I present my version of Shepard's pie.


With crispy potato all the way round, tender juicy meat and veg in the middle this rustic dish also has a very good feel good factor to it. Combine it with garlic bread and sautéed veggies and you have a gourmet meal.



Ingredients for the mashed potato crust

Potatoes - 5-6 (med sized)
Cream - 1/4 cup
Milk - 4 tbsp
Butter - 50 gms
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Method

Boil the potatoes, then peel and mash. Pass through a sieve to get a silky smooth texture. Add milk, butter, cream, salt & pepper and beat together till mixed. Set aside.

Ingredients for the filling

Chicken / Lamb mince - 500 gms
Carrots - 2  (peeled and chopped fine)
Onions - 2 large (chopped fine)
Thyme - a couple of sprigs (2-3 tsp if you have the dried one)
Garlic - 2 tsp chopped
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Tomato Puree - 300 ml
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tblsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Salt & pepper - To taste

Method
Sauté the onions, garlic and carrots with the olive oil and butter, until just staring to colour. Add the thyme and Mince. Cook till it changes colour and starts to release liquid. Add the tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook till the meat is cooked (approx 20 min). Add salt, sugar and pepper. Taste and check. Cook till liquid evaporates. Set aside.

Take the pie dish. Lay the mince mixture in the pie dish. Top with the potato mash. Make a light chequered pattern on the crust with a fork.
Bake in a pre-heated oven till the crust turns golden brown.

The vegetarian version of the same dish may be made from soya granules. Soak the soya granules in warm water for 15 min. Take the granules out and squeeze out the excess water and the rest of the process remains the same.

Serve hot with garlic bread and sautéed vegetables.

Banoffee Pie

As the wife of any service officer will tell you, we are often required to cook up food for an impromptu get-together of friends/acquaintances who happen to be passing through base. This pie goes down as one of my favourite desserts to make as the most important ingredient the 'toffee' can be made months in advance and stored. And when you bring out the dessert, the hungry horde of bachelors/ officers can barely believe you made it at such short notice.

Another feather to the fabled hat never hurt!   

Banoffee Pie

Banoffee Pie or Banana Toffee Pie is a decadent dessert made out of Bananas, Toffee and cream. The humble banana is transformed into this delicacy of exquisite sweetness from the Toffee. The toffee is a short cut recipe to be made from condensed milk. So here goes -



Pie base
Blitz marie biscuits to fine powder consistency. To 150 gms of the powder add 1/4 cup fresh cream and 30 gms melted butter. Mix this with your finger tips. Butter the base of a pie dish / ramekin and pat the mixture on the base and on the sides. The thickness of the base is as you require, we prefer to have about 3-5 mm of thickness. Keep aside.


Pie Filling
To make the toffee - take a tin of condensed milk. Do not open it. Put it in a rice cooker or steamer or a pan of water (remember to remove the plastic items on the tin so that it does not melt in your pot). Cook the tin for about 40 minutes. What you get is a brown thick toffee. (you can eat this by itself as well)

TIP - While you are at it, I suggest you cook 3-4 tins of condensed milk (to save gas / electricity). Now you can store these toffee tins (without opening it) for a good 6-7 months. Open it when required and you have nice toffee.

Take your pie base and spread a layer of toffee over the pie base(thickness depending on how sweet you want your dessert). Now slice bananas and arrange all over the toffee layer. If you like your dessert really sweet, top this with another layer of toffee (it becomes sickeningly sweet but the choice is yours). Top it with whipped cream, decorate with chocolate shavings or decorations or some dry fruits / sliced bananas.
Refrigerate and your dessert is ready. Simple isnt it?