-
1
Add the minced beef to a preheated saucepan and fry quickly releasing the fat (if you use lean beef you'll have to use oil) add thinly sliced onion and lower the heat allowing onions to saute - you can use more meat if you want, but I buy 450g and steal 100g of it to make my Cornish pasties ;)
-
2
When onions have become clear add the butter and melt
-
3
Sprinkle the flour over the top of the neat and onion mixture and stir in to absorb the butter.
-
4
Cook for 1 minute whilst stirring.
-
5
Add the beef stock a little at a time stirring well in between to avoid any lumps.
-
6
Put the meat layer into your chosen baking dish - I use a rectangular 12x8, 2 inch deep glass dish but you could choose round, smaller, deeper
-
7
Now make the leek layer (leaving meat to cool helps keep the layers separate during cooking)
-
8
Put butter into a saute pan with a lid.
-
9
Add the sliced leeks and sweat with the lid on over a low heat
-
10
When the leeks are soft, sprinkle over the flour and stir in for 1 minute
-
11
Add the milk and stir in well now add the mustard powder and grated cheese
-
12
If you don't have mustard powder you can use yellow English mustard.
-
13
Add any seasoning at this point that you feel necessary - we all have different palates
-
14
When leeks cooled dollop onto the meat sauce, then carefully, a forkfull at a time, cover it in mashed potato.
-
15
I start from the centre so if I don't have enough mashed potato i just leave a border around the outside - it's ok, it doesn't have to be perfect
-
16
So mashed potato - i may make fresh for this meal, but often I use leftover, so up to you but I would say that you need it to be fairly stiff.
-
17
You can keep in the fridge up to 48 hours before baking, the longer the better as it firms up the layers
-
18
Bake at 180 degrees C gas 4 for 35 - 40 minutes until the neat starts bubbling through and it starts to form a sticky crust
