The Happy Housewife's Recipes

Smoked Salmon and Crispy Bacon Salad

2006-06-11T13:53:00.000+01:00

How can it be right to give quantities for a salad? It can't be. So regard these as mere suggestions for a meal for two.

Streaky bacon, 4 rashers
A selection of curly lettuce (lollo rosso, frisee etc...)
1/4 of a cucumber, cut in half lengthways and thinly sliced
6 radish, thinly sliced
1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced into long strips
Smoked salmon
3 spring onions, finely chopped
Chives, left whole
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
Black pepper

4 tbsp creme fraiche
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon zest

Firstly, fry the rashers of bacon until good and crispy. Leave aside to cool.

Combine the creme fraiche, lemon juice and zest in a bowl - you may not need all the lemon juice so add a little at a time until it is as lemony as you like.

Arrange a bed of lettuce on the plates first, and then add the cucmber, radish and red pepper randomly on top. Then pleat or fold the pieces of salmon roughly and lay in the centre. Scatter over some parsley and the spring onions, garnish with the chives and a twist of black pepper. Serve with a dollop of lemon cream on the side.

This is sublime with wam potato cakes...

Honey-Roast Supper Tray

2006-02-18T11:07:00.000Z

It is not possible, or even desirable to give quantities here, and I actually feel uncomfortable giving ingredients! This is more a suggestion, a hint, an idea on how to create a stress-free, tasty supper with whatever you have to hand with the minumum of faffing. It is also absolutely delicious every time, whatever you use, guaranteed. Honestly...

Sausages and chorizo
Chicken breasts
Ham and bacon
Potatoes
Sweetcorn
Cherry tomaotoes
Chick peas
Sweet potatoes
Butternut squash
Sweet peppers
Aubergine
Courgettes
Fresh or dried herbs
Honey

A combination of any or all of the above ingredients is the kind of thing you are after. Everything gets chopped into bite-size bits, but leave things like the tomatoes whole. Spread it all out in a well-oiled baking tray, turning everything so it gets coated, then drizzle with honey or maple syrup, scatter fresh or dried herbs over and roast in a medium-hot oven for as long as it takes. That's it!

This is perfect for using up those little bowls of left-overs in the fridge, although obviously you don't want too many ingredients which have wildly differing cooking times. I always aim for roughly half an hour cooking time. Uncooked sausages and chicken would be perfect, as would frozen sweetcorn and raw squash and sweet potatoes. I would need to increase the cooking time if I was using unccoked potatoes, but there is nearly always a bowl of cooked spuds somewhere in the fridge - boiled new potatoes are just perfect for this. Try sprinkling over some paprika or chilli powder or even worcestershire sauce for a bit of oomph, use brown sugar if you have no honey, drizzle over some mango chutney, use your imagination, experiment with flavours... Perfect for pregnant palates!

Beef, Orange and Thyme Casserole

2006-02-17T15:39:00.000Z

Everyone asked for second helpings when I concocted this for yesterday's supper. Another easy "throw-it-all-in-the-pan-and let-it-do-its-thing" kind of dish - my favourite kind of cooking. Getting the balance of flavours right is down to personal taste, so tweak the quantities and seasoning as your heart desires... This should feed about 4, depending on greed.

1 small onion, finely chopped
4-6 rashers of bacon, diced
500g stewing or braising beef, diced
Handful plain flour
1 medium butternut squash, de-seeded, peeled and chopped
Handful baby carrots, scraped & chopped
Orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
Chicken stock
White wine
Fresh thyme

Start by preheating the oven to 170˚.

In a frying pan on a low heat, soften the onion in a little oil for about ten minutes, while you dice the meat and prepare the vegetables. (You might want to chop the carrots slightly smaller than the squash as they take a wee bit longer to cook.) Transfer the onion to a casserole dish.

In the frying pan, add a little more oil and turn the heat up. Fry the bacon until golden and crispy. Transfer the bacon to the casserole dish too. (Don't worry about what type of bacon you use - smoked, salty, sweet-cured, or streaky would all compliment this dish)

Add a little more oil to the frying pan and then brown the beef, in batches if necessary, and then add it to the casserole dish.

Move the casserole dish onto the heat now, and stir through a handful of plain flour, letting it cook through for a minute or two. Then slowly stir in about half a pint of chicken stock, letting it thicken slightly, and then throw in a 1/4 pint of white wine and a 1/4 pint of orange juice. (Don't worry if you haven't got oranges in the fruit bowl to freshly squeeze - use a good quality carton of juice, preferably without 'bits' in!)

Add the vegetables, and add some more orange juice if necessary - you want the liquid to just about cover everything in the dish. Strip the thyme leaves off a handful of stalks (I have lemon thyme growing on my window sill and it worked so well with the orange juice, but do use dried thyme if that's what you have got in the cupboard) and stir through the casserole with a bit of salt (you won't need much because of the bacon, and also if you have used stock cubes) and pepper. Clap on the lid, chuck in the oven and go and do something else for about three hours!!

Do give it a stir from time to time, and adjust the level of liquid if required. I added more orange juice when it was getting too thick, because that is the flavour I wanted - but you may prefer to add more wine or more stock.

When the meat is tender and the vegetables are soft and melting, serve with mountains of creamy mashed potatoes, or with some warm crusty bread dripping with butter... Heavenly!

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breast wrapped in Parma Ham

2006-02-15T09:51:00.000Z

Unbelievably quick with no faffing or fussing, but also unbelievably tasty...!

1 chicken breast per person
2 slices parma ham per breast
Pesto
Cream cheese

Start by pre-heating the oven to 200˚.

Prepare chicken by making a 'pocket' in the side of the breast, by using a very sharp knife and just slicing half-way through the meat. Into this pocket, spread a desertspoon of pesto and a desertspoon of cream cheese. Wrap up the chicken breast in the ham, making sure to cover the opening of the pocket, and lay on a very lightly oiled baking tray. Brush with a little oil and pop in the oven for 15 minutes.

Voila! As they say...

Delicious with sauteed potatoes and salad, or mash and ratatouille.

Of course, parma ham can be jolly expensive, so try substituting streaky bacon, (you might want to flash-fry the chicken parcels in a hot frying pan first to get some good golden colour on the bacon, before you put them in the oven).

Try experimenting with the stuffing - a blend of garlic, fresh chopped herbs can be added to the cream cheese, as can sun-dried tomatoes, or dried apricots - and leave out the pesto all together, or try different types - my favourite is made from chargrilled aubergine. Also, try different types of cheeses, depending on your mood - but there is nothing wrong with good old-fashioned cheddar if that is all you have lurking in the fridge.

Salmon and Prawn Pesto Linguine

2006-02-10T10:50:00.000Z

This is one of those easy throw-it-together meals, of which there are many variations, which I tend to fall back on in an emergency, as we nearly always have the right ingredients lurking in the freezer or larder... I have deliberately said nothing about quantities - this dish is about convenience and what you have to hand. It is also about the successful marriage of certain flavours, so it's up to you - flex those taste-buds!

Linguine - or pasta of your choice
Salmon steaks
King Prawns
Seedless green grapes, halved
Pesto
Creme fraiche

The easiest way to cook the salmon is to pan-fry the steaks in a little light oil - I prefer to use sunflower or rape-seed for this, not olive oil. You could poach them and they'd be delicious, but the point about this dish is that it is supposed to be fuss-free and super-quick!

Anyway, while they are sizzling nicely in the pan, boil the kettle and get the pasta on in another saucepan.

Turn the salmon over, and add the prawns to the same pan. You could use ready-cooked prawns if you like - in which case you are only re-heating them, not cooking them, so they will take a little less time. Make sure they are piping hot.

The fish and the pasta will probably finish cooking at around the same time. Take the fish off the heat and cover with a lid, while you drain the pasta, and return it to the saucepan on a really low heat.

Stir some olive oil or butter through the pasta, and some pesto. I like to use the classic green basil pesto for this. Then I add some creme fraiche - roughly about 2-3 times as much as the pesto, until you have created a sauce which coats the pasta, rather than drowns it.

Stir it all through with some salt and pepper, and throw in the grapes. Serve out the pasta into big flat bowls. Then quickly remove the skin and any stray bones from the salmon (this takes about ten seconds!), flake into big chunks and place on top of pasta. Scatter over the prawns, and any juices left from the pan. Garnish with fresh basil, or parsley, or coriander.

Eat, enjoy....

Spinach, Pea and Bacon Soup

2006-02-02T10:01:00.000Z

This must be the easiest soup in the world! It is also one of the tastiest...

The quantities are approximate, so don't worry if you haven't got eactly the right amount. I prefer petit-pois but ordinary garden peas work just as well. Frozen spinach really doesn't though, so try and use a bag of fresh leaves. You could substitute sorrel for spinach and some onion or shallot for the leeks. Any type of bacon works well, especially smoked. You might want a bit more than four rashers if you use streaky. Like everything I create, it is open to interpretation, so get experimenting! Depending on what you serve with it - I heartily recommend cheese on toast or Welsh rarebit - these quantities will serve about 4 people.

2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
200g spinach leaves
500g frozen peas
1.5 - 2 pints chicken stock
4 rashers bacon

Fry bacon until crispy.

While the bacon is cooking, soften the leeks in another pan with some butter for about 5 or 6 minutes. Throw in some more butter, and then the peas and spinach. Sir it all around so everything is covered with buttery juices and when the spinach has wilted slightly - after a couple of minutes - add enough chicken stock to cover. You may not need all the stock depending on the size of your pan.

Throw in 3 rashers of the crispy bacon, clap on the lid, and leave to simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until the peas have cooked through.

Blitz with a hand blender or food processor and return to pan. Bring back to temperature and check seasoning. As well as salt and pepper, you may want to alter the consistency by adding a little more stock. You can also experiment with a pinch of nutmeg, a spoonful of sugar, or a squeeze of lemon juice. You may like to stir through a spoonful of cream into each bowl on serving, with a scattering of parsley. Crumble over the remaining bacon rasher and serve with slices of cheese on toast...

Heavenly!

Pork, Apricot and Ginger Casserole

2006-01-28T07:41:00.000Z

A light, fresh-tasting dish, with some warmth about it... and really easy to put together!

To feed four, you will need:

600g or thereabouts diced pork
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
Fresh root ginger, about 2cm, finely grated
1-2 tbsp flour
Chicken stock, about 3/4 pint
A large handful dried apricots
Single cream or creme fraiche
Parsley or lemon thyme

Start by browning the meat in a little oil in a frying pan - you will probably have to do this in two batches. Then transfer the meat to a casserole dish.

Then add a little more oil to the frying pan and soften the onion with the sugar, add the crushed garlic and the ginger after about five minutes, and cook for a few minutes more. Tip everything into the casserole dish with the meat.

Move the casserole dish onto the heat and stir in the flour, letting it cook through for a minute or two, then slowly add the chicken stock while stirring, allowing it to thicken slightly. Throw in the dried apricots, clap on the lid and shove it in the oven on a medium heat (about 170') for about one to one and a half hours or until meat is tender.

You can stir in a tablespoon of cream or creme fraiche if you like before serving. This went very well with rice and a green salad, and just needs a scattering of parsley or a sprig of lemon thyme to garnish.

Bon appetit!

Spinach, Plum and Black Pudding Salad

2006-01-26T10:54:00.000Z

A warming winter salad that came about, like much of my recipes, when we had unexpected visitors for lunch. Easy and looks amazing on the plate... This will easily feed four, probably five if you serve it with lots of granary toast...

2 Black puddings, sliced
6 Plums (must be oozingly ripe)
Baby spinach leaves
1/2 red onion
Handful of toasted pinenuts

In a hot pan, fry the black pudding in a little oil until cooked.

Meanwhile, remove the stones and cut the plums into eighths.

Cut the onion into rings.

Toss everything together and dress with a honey and mustard balsamic vinaigrette. Job done!

You could try adding streaky bacon, and apple wedges or even radish slices instead of the plums. I did this once with blood oranges and it looked spectacular, but use a classic vinaigrette. Watercress works well instead of spinach.

Chicken Chowder

2006-01-26T10:06:00.000Z

This recipe has so many variations that it is a brilliant and easy way to rustle up a quick and tasty supper for the family, because you'll always have something in the larder or the fridge that you can chuck in! It is wonderfully comforting on chilly evenings and the little ones love it...

The basic recipe for four hungry people is as follows:

Butter
A dash of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup rice
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 chicken breasts, skin removed and meat diced
1/2 cup frozen or tinned sweetcorn
Handful of flour
Chicken stock, about 2 pints
Single cream or creme fraiche

You will notice that I haven't given any quantities for some of the ingredients - don't be afraid, this dish is really done by 'eye' and you can't actually go wrong.

Start by cooking the onion gently in a good tablespoon of butter with a very small dash of olive oil which will stop the butter burning. You don't want to brown the onions, so go slowly on a medium heat, keep stirring and add the diced chicken after about five minutes. It doesn't have to be breast meat - (in fact, you can even use the equivalent amount of cooked chicken, but if so don't put it in yet!)

When the chicken has coloured slightly, but not browned, add the rice and keep stirring so each grain is covered in the buttery juices. You may need to add another tablespoon of butter - that's fine. Let it all cook for a further minute, stirring all the while, and then chuck in a handful of flour. It needs another minute and you must keep stirring so the bottom doesn't catch.

Then add the chicken stock slowly - keep stirring! - and it will thicken nicely. The amount is up to you, but I think a pint is about right for now. Then add the diced potatoes, stick the lid on, and go and do something else for 20-25 minutes. You will have to stir it occasionally to stop it sticking, and you will need to add more stock as the rice swells, but you should end up with a marvellous thick velvety soup.

When the rice and potatoes are cooked, add the sweetcorn, If you are using cooked chicken - now is the time to throw that in too. Also add some cream or creme fraiche to taste and heat it all through until piping hot. Obviously season well, and serve in wide flat bowls with a scattering of parsley on top. It needs hot crusty bread and should be eaten while wearing sheepskin slippers for greatest effect...

There are loads of variations on this theme - try adding different fresh herbs (sage or thyme work really well); crumbled crispy bacon; cheddar cheese; celery or carrots; substitute the chicken for ham or smoked sausage or crab; add curry powder when sauteeing the onions; add white wine or milk to the stock; use less stock to make a thicker dish that you can serve with mashed potatoes... the world is your chowder.

Sausage, Lentil and Apple Casserole

2006-01-18T13:51:00.000Z

This is one of our family favourites. Don't be put off by the lentils - it helps to stretch the meal a little further and they have a wonderfully subtle nutty taste. Don't faff about with soaking dried ones overnight if you don't want to - most supermarkets sell tins of lovely green or puy lentils - just open the can, drain and rinse and chuck them in! If you are cooking for children, you may prefer to chop the onion finely rather than cutting it into wedges.

1 onion, cut into wedges
4-8 sausages (depending on how hungry you are)
1-2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
1 tbsp flour
1 pint of chicken stock (made from stock cubes)
1 tin green lentils, drained and rinsed
Fresh sage leaves or a pinch of dried herbs

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add your sausages and fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.

Add the onion wedges and continue to stir around, until everything is nice and golden.

Add the apples, and stir carefully so the wedges remain whole and start to colour slightly too.

Throw in 1 tbsp flour, and continue to stir about until it has been absorbed and cooked through for a minute or two.

Add chicken stock slowly, stirring until it thickens. You probably won't need all of it - you are aiming for a sauce rather than a soup!

Drain lentils and add to casserole with some fresh sage or dried herbs.

Allow to simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. (Add more stock if necessary)

Serve with crusty bread or mashed potatoes.

VARIATIONS:

You can stir in a teaspoon of mustard to the casserole if you like, or some apple sauce. Try using dried apricots insted of an apple. Alternatively, use beef stock and redcurrant jelly for a different flavour. Feel free to throw in a slug of wine also…

Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Muffin

2006-01-18T13:39:00.000Z

This is a ridiculously easy and very tasty lunch dish, great on a lightly toasted plain muffin or granary bread, or as a filling for a baked potato. The quantities shown here are for one hungry person...

2 rashers bacon (diced)
3 large mushrooms (very thinly sliced)
Worcester sauce
Crème fraiche
1 toasted muffin

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a high heat and fry the bacon until nearly crispy.

Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly golden.

Add 2-3 teaspoons of Worcester sauce to the hot pan and stir it around until it coats the mushrooms and bacon and bubbles away to almost nothing.

Add 2 tablespoons of crème fraiche and stir it into the mixture. Season with black pepper (no salt - the bacon and Worcester sauce are salty enough)

Serve piled onto a hot buttered toasted bagel with slices of fresh tomato on the side.

If you do not have any Worcester sauce, you can use the juice of half a lemon with some dark soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar, and natural yoghurt could replace the crème fraiche.

Smoked Fish and Quail's Egg Salad

2006-01-06T10:40:00.000Z

I created this simple salad for a dinner party a couple of years ago, and we have served it in the pub where it has proved very popular, both as a starter but also as a light lunch. It is a great antidote to the excesses of Christmas feasting, because it satisfies everyone's New Year resolution to eat more healthily while providing just enough warming stodge to keep out the winter chill, especially if served with some crusty bread from the oven. As usual with most of my dishes, there are endless variations... it can easily be de-poshed and de-caloried! Quantities are virtually impossible to define - this is really about texture and taste (and all too often what is left in the fridge) - but if you start with the salad leaves as a guide, you can build from there. For this reason I usually create each salad for each person individually, rather than serve it in a large bowl for everyone to help themselves - but it's up to you!

Green salad leaves (any variation but those with some crunch work really well, like cos or little gem hearts)

Cucumber

Spring onion

Apple

Eggs (soft or hard boiled)

Warm boiled potatoes

Smoked fish fillet (hot-smoked salmon or trout preferably)

Parsley

Chives

Hollandaise or horseradish dressing

You can just chuck everything together, but I think it does look better if you take a little time to arrange things. I start by laying a bed of salad leaves, and then add some cucumber rounds cut in half and some apple slices. I leave the skin on the apples to add some colour. (Depending on how colour-conscious you are you might want to keep everything to a limited palette - in which case green apples are best, but perhaps for a winter meal a flash of dappled red will lift it. In the summer, I like to put the apples in the fridge for a good hour beforehand, so you get that wonderful contrast between ice-cold crisp from the fruit and soft melting warmth from the potato.)

The potatoes are best boiled - in the summer the baby new potatoes in their skins are perfect for this dish, but there is nothing wrong with using the larger older varieties if you peel them and cut them into bite-size pieces. After cooking, toss them in real butter or olive oil and salt and pepper when still hot, then let them cool slightly, before adding them on top of your layer of leaves. I usually use quails' eggs cut in half because they look so neat and taste wonderful, but if it is not for a special occasion then hens' eggs work just fine cut into quarters. I prefer them to be soft-boiled so the velvety yolk oozes out and gently coats the other ingredients. I don't tend to toss things together because each mouthful should taste slightly different and also the eggs are likely to break up. The spring onion works best I think cut small and scattered.

Then lay two small fillets of smoked trout or hot-smoked salmon on the top in a cross, and dress with a spoonful of hollandaise or drizzle over some horseradish dressing. This is easy to prepare with mayonaise or creme fraiche combined with horseradish to taste. Finish by scattering over some chopped parsley and some uncut whole chives.

For family catering on a budget, you could use iceberg lettuce, tuna which the children will like, and plain mayonaise. They will probably turn up their noses at the parsley and chives - it is disparagingly known as 'grass' in this family!

Baked Sweet-Glazed Ham and Fruity Cous-Cous

2005-11-22T09:05:00.000Z

This is a really tasty supper which requires little effort and is quick to prepare, but it looks so jolly with the fruit-studded cous-cous! The following ingredients are really only suggestions, as this dish is open to creative experimenting depending on your family's favourite tastes.

Gammon joint (750g serves approx 3 people)

Mango chutney

Mustard (whole-grain or English)

1 cup cous-cous

Chicken stock (made with stock cube)

2 spring onions

Tin chick peas

2 fresh peaches or a ripe mango

A big handful of fresh parsley or coriander

(Chilli oil)

Salt and pepper

Cook the gammon joint on a baking tray covered in foil according to the packet instructions, but I often find it needs slightly less time than recommended, so keep an eye on it. About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the foil and brush with a paste made from the mustard and mango chutney. This should caremelise during cooking to a sweet glaze, but it does catch easily so keep checking it! Remove from oven and set aside for 10 miutes or so.

Meanwhile, put the cous-cous in a bowl with slightly less than twice the amount of chicken stock. I find it helps to measure the cous-cous and stock with a cup so your measurements are equivalent. Put a plate on top of the bowl and leave until all the stock has been absorbed.

Chop the spring onions finely, and whatever fresh herbs you want to use - I suggest parsley and/or coriander - and prepare the fruit. Peaches and mangoes go very well with this dish, but pineapple, apricots or even apples work just as well. Depending on how fussy your children are, you might want to peel the fruit as well as dicing it. Don't be scared to use tinned varieties if you don't have anything suitable in the fruit bowl!

The chick peas are easy to prepare. Empty the contents of the tin into a seive and rinse, and then shake about vigourously and the thin skins will come off and you can pick them out. This is not strictly necessary, but some people don't like the texture. If you haven't got chick peas, I have successfully used cannellini, kidney or aduki beans at various times.

Fluff the cous-cous with a fork to separate grains and add a smidge of butter or olive oil. A drizzle of chilli oil adds a little zing if your children are adventurous... Then add the onion, chick peas and peaches and stir well to mix, adding lots of salt and pepper.

Slice the ham and serve with the cous-cous. Mango chutney makes an excellent accompaniment!

Bon appetit!

Cottage or Shepherd's Pie

2005-11-10T10:12:00.000Z

This has to be the ultimate comfort food. Everyone loves their mother's Shepherd's Pie - the gastronomic equivalent of a sticking plaster! See my post Domestic Tensions, Good Intentions & Shepherd's Pie

I don't think it is entirely helpful to give specific quantities here, as like most of my cooking, the emphasis is on what there is left in the fridge and how many hungry people are clamouring for their supper. I try to allow about 500g of meat per 4 adult servings, but this is absolutely not cast in stone! So these measurements are a guide and I positively encourage you to tweak them to your own taste.

500g minced lamb/beef
1 large onion, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
Dried herbs (a selection of your favourites, perhaps bay leaves, sage, thyme, rosemary)
Handful plain flour
Chicken, beef or lamb stock
Good slug of red or white wine
2 0r 3 carrots, peeled & diced
Redcurrant jelly

Start by sauteeing the finely diced onion and celery in a frying pan, in a little oil on a medium heat for about five minutes or so, or until they are soft and almost transculent. Scoop them out of the pan and set aside in a casserole dish or large saucepan.
Then add a little more oil and the mince to the frying pan - you might have to do this in batches. Brown the mince and break it up with a wooden spatula and then drain it through a seive to remove the excess fat. (If you do this over a bowl, you can chuck the fat away into the dustbin instead of pouring it down the sink where it clog up the drains and does all sorts of environmental damage.)
Add it to the saucepan and put it on a medium heat.

Then add your carrots, and next I chuck in a handful of flour and maybe a big pinch of dried herbs and a bay leaf or two. Stir the flour through the meat and onions and don't panic because it looks horrible!

Then take your stock (if there isn't any chicken stock in the fridge made up from the bones of the Sunday roast, then I'll happily use a stock cube or two - I think chicken stock works nicely with beef or lamb mince, but beef stock cubes tend to taste and smell more artificial somehow, so use them sparingly and probably only with beef mince as they don't sit so comfortably with lamb!) and add it slowly stirring all the time. This is the time to add a slug of wine if you would like to, I don't think it matters whether it is red or white.
Add about a desertspoon of redcurrant jelly and season with salt and pepper.
Then clap on the lid, and leave to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, while you do the potatoes. If the consistency is too liquid, take the lid off to let it reduce down a little and thicken. If it is too thick, add a little more wine or stock. You don't want it too runny, or the mashed potato topping will sink! (This has become known as 'Shepherd's Soup' in our house!)

I'm not going to attempt to give you exact quantities for your mashed potato either - it depends on how much mince mixture you have made, how big your serving dish is, and how thick your family like their topping, it's a very personal thing! I don't think you can make too much, so err on the side of caution, because if you don't use it all the leftover mash can go into soups, fish or bacon cakes, bubble and squeak - the possibilities are endless. So get peeling. Boil the potatoes gently until you can prod them with a fork easily. Don't let them disintegrate and fall apart because they make horrible watery mash. Mash with butter and milk until lump-free and creamy.

Now back to our mince mixture. Taste it and add more seasoning if necessary, and then spoon into an ovenproof serving dish. Cover with the potato topping. (If you work around the outside first, using a fork to push the potato firmly up against the edge of the dish, it ensures there are no gaps for the gravy to bubble up through. Also, use the fork to create ridges across the top of the potato topping, which encourages it to brown.)
Plonk into a pre-heated hot oven until the meat mixture is bubbling and the topping is a glorious golden brown.

Variations on a theme

All of these can be useful additions to your mince mixture -
mushrooms
sultanas
bacon
lentils
baked beans
black pudding
apple sauce or ketchup (instead of redcurrant jelly)

And to the potato topping, try adding -
sweet potato
butternut squash
pumpkin
cheese (particularly grated cheddar mixed into the mash or scattered on top, but also try brie and stilton)
cream
mustard
parsley
breadcrumbs or crushed crisps (sprinkled on top)
leeks