Shepherd’s pie recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or lamb

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 cups mashed potatoes (you can use leftover mashed potatoes or make them fresh)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef or lamb and cook until browned and crumbly.

Add the onion, garlic, and carrots to the skillet and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the meat mixture to a 9×13 inch baking dish and spread it out in an even layer.

Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture and spread them out in an even layer as well.

Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the mashed potatoes.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let the shepherd’s pie cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy your delicious homemade shepherd’s pie!

Pain Au Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

500g Very strong white bread flour’

1 tsp Salt

Easy bake yeast sachet ((7g))

75g Billington’s Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar

270ml Water

350g Butter (unsalted)

250g Plain chocolate (70% cocoa)

Instructions:

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and water in a mixing bowl to form a firm dough. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in an electric mixer bowl using a dough hook.

Remove the butter from the fridge and warm very slightly so that it can be flattened out into a rough rectangle about 1-2cm thick.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is roughly a third larger than the size of the butter.

Place the butter on top of the dough, making sure it only covers two-thirds of it.

Fold the third of the dough that’s not covered by the butter over the butter-covered dough. You will be left with a third of the butter-covered dough exposed. Fold that back onto the dough, layering the dough and the butter.

Roll the butter and dough layers with a rolling pin to press them down. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Take the dough butter mix out of the fridge, place the short end towards you and roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, approximately 15mm thick. Repeat the folding process, cover with cling-film and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Repeat the folding and chilling process two more times so that you have rolled and folded 4 times. Wrap loosely in cling film and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. Roll out the chilled dough to a large rectangle the thickness of a pound coin.

Cut the dough into 12 x 12cm squares.

Using a sharp knife, cut the chocolate into 12 lengths (don’t worry if it shatters a little). Arrange a row of chocolate along one edge of each piece of dough and roll the dough over forming a sausage.

Place the pain au chocolate on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to prove for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan 200°C, gas mark 7). Bake the pain au chocolat for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden. Serve warm.