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1
Cut the potatoes into even size cubes & place in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt and let it boil for about 1/2 hour or until potatoes are VERY tender.
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2
While the potatoes are cooking, pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
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3
Add 2 Tablespoons of cooking oil to a large deep pan.
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4
Keep the pan at high heat at all times.
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5
Add the onions.
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6
Stir them around for a minute.
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7
Add the minced garlic.
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8
Stir it around for a minute.
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9
And then add the ground beef.
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10
Keep stove at high heat and give it a good stir.
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11
Add the carrots, mushrooms, 1 Tablespoon of mixed herbs and 5 bay leaves.
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12
Add 2-3 cubes of beef bouillon.
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13
It depends on the brand you use.
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14
Taste it at the end and add more if necessary.
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15
I crumble them with my fingers into the pan.
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16
Theres nothing worse than eating into food and biting into a large lump of undissolved stock cube.
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17
Add 3 tablespoons of Bovril, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1 Cup of red wine.
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18
After a good stir to combine the ingredients in the pot, sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of plain flour.
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19
Stir the flour through.
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20
Turn off the fire.
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21
Cover tightly and set aside.
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22
By now the potatoes should be done.
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23
The potatoes must be very tender, or they wont mash nicely into a soft whipped texture.
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24
Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot and add in 150 grams of butter, 2 cubes of chicken stock, black pepper and 1.5 cups of whole milk.
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25
Stir and mash.
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26
Tweak with milk or seasonings where necessary.
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27
You want to get a very soft mash.
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28
When the mashed potatoes are finger linking good on their own, cover the pot and set aside.
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29
Now back to the meat mixture.
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30
Dish out the meat stuff into a large casserole dish.
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31
Fill half the dish with meat mixture.
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32
Place the mashed potatoes in a strong freezer zip lock bag.
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33
And push the mixture to the bottom of the bag.
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34
Snip off an inch tip of one of the corners of the bag.
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35
Hold the opened tip carefully and place the bag of potatoes over the casserole dish.
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36
Start piping in straight lines end to end.
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37
Once you have the potatoes piped on, use an offset spatula or a jam knife and gently move the surface of the potatoes till you get an even flat top.
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38
Add more mashed potatoes where necessary.
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39
Brush the egg yolk over the surface of the pipes generously.
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40
Glide a fork over the surface gently and create straight lines.
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41
Do the same thing for the second pie.
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42
Pop the pies into the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
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43
To give it an extra golden brown, I turned the oven to broil in the last 5 minutes.
