It’s not strictly correct to associate Britain with rain because British summers are especially beautiful and there are few gardens in the world that can compare to the English country garden –but we often do.  On the plus side we also associate Britain with good food these days – especially because British chefs, farmers and fishermen have leapt out of obscurity and into our lives with BBC Food one of the top ranking television channels in the world today. We know these chefs as well as we know our politicians (often more so) and follow their programmes,

never missing a single episode. When it comes to chefs television chefs, Gordon Ramsay has to be the king and this recipe, though slightly adapted, has got to be one of the best we’ve ever tasted – it originated at the F word restaurant but we adapted it a little because we can.

Ingredients

• 500g minced lean lamb
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and pureed
• 1 large lemon, grated zest only
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 handful of fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, needles chopped
• 250ml red wine
• 1large tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 300ml fresh home made chicken stock
• 1kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 125 g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Season the mince to taste and sauté to sear in hot oil until browned – about 2 – 3 minutes before stirring in the onions, the carrots and the garlic.
• Add the Oyster and the Worcestershire sauce and stir well before stirring in the tomato puree , the lemon zest and the herbs and stir frying for a couple of minutes.
• Pour in the red wine and reduce until it has almost evaporated before adding the fresh chicken stock, bringing to the boil and simmering until the sauce has thickened.
• In the meantime, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until quite tender and then drain before retuning briefly to a hot, clean pot to dry out.
• Using a potato ricer or a masher (depends on your taste) and mash the potatoes – then whisk in the egg yolks and the butter, check and correct the seasoning and set aside.
• Spoon the minced lamb into the bottom of a large ovenproof dish and then layer the mashed potatoes on top of the minced lamb.
• Fluff up the potatoes with a fork and bake in the oven for 20 -30 minutes until the potatoes are golden in colour.