Slow Cooked Shepherds Pie

I love Cottage Pie and Shephards pie. But a slow-cooked version of them leads to much, much softer mince and makes the house smell awesome all day

Out of convenience, this recipe uses a couple of Shepherds Pie spice sachets - you can make the mix up using herbs and flour if you'd prefer. One thing to note though, is that you should under-provision the water - unlike cooking in the oven, the sauce won't reduce down in a slow cooker, so it needs to be about the right consistency from the outset.

Unlike when you cook it in the oven, the top of the potato doesn't crisp up (you can put it under the grill for a bit if you'll miss that), but the edge of the potato layer does.

If you're feeling adventurous you can also add mixed beans to this, or outright swap the lamb for Beef and make a Cottage pie instead.

Cooking Time

Ingredients

• 450g Lamb mince
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large leek
• 1 large onion
• 5 large potatoes
• Cup of frozen peas
• 1 pint cold water
• 2 Shephards Pie spice sachets
• 2 Tbsp milk or cream
• Grated cheese

Method

1. Peel and chop the onion
2. Peel and chop the carrot (into discs)
3. Wash and chop the leek, cutting slices into half
4. Set your slow cooker warming on low
5. Put a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat hob
6. Put the lamb mince into the pan and break it up with a spatula
7. Once the mince has browned, add the onions
8. Continue to cook until the onion has softened a bit
9. Mix in the carrots and leek
10. Put the cold water into a bowl and then thoroughly stir both spice sachets into it
11. Pour the mixture into the pan
12. Stir in the peas
13. Bring up to the boil, stirring well
14. The sauce won't thicken in the slow cooker, so if it's too runny add a little flour. If it's too thick, add a little water
15. Carefully pour/scrape the mix into your slow cooker and put the lid on
16. Peel and chop the potatoes
17. Put them into a large saucepan and just cover with water
18. Put the pan onto a hot hob and bring to the boil
19. Boil the potatoes until soft
20. Drain the spuds into a colander and then return to the pan
21. Add the milk/cream to the pan, and sprinkle in a couple of handfuls of grated cheese
22. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until they're smooth
23. Remove the lid from your slow cooker and carefully spoon the mash on top of the mince mix to form a seal
24. Smooth it a bit with a spoon
25. Put the lid back on
26. Leave slow cooker on low and cook for 7-8 hours