Mince and Potato Bake — Shepherd's Pie the Swiss Way
Cook mince with onions, carrot, tomato purée and stock for 15 minutes into a thick sauce, add peas, into a dish. Spread mash over, score with a fork, cheese on top, bake at 200 °C for 25 minutes. The meat sauce must be thick, or the mash floats.
Mince and potatoes are the two ingredients that are always there, and the bake turns them into a dish everyone likes: a thick mince sauce with vegetables below, mashed potato with a cheese crust on top. In England it is shepherd's pie. It is the ideal make-ahead meal — assembled in the morning, 25 minutes in the oven at night — and the leftovers are almost better the next day.
Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 600 g Minced meat (beef or mixed)
- 2 pieces Onions
- 2 pieces Carrots
- 2 pieces Garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp Tomato purée
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 3 dl Beef stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
- 150 g Peas (frozen)
- 1½ tsp Salt
- Pepper
Mash
- 1.2 kg Potatoes (floury)
- 2 dl Milk
- 50 g Butter
- Nutmeg
- 100 g Gruyère (grated)
Method
- 1
Boil the potatoes
Peel the potatoes, cut into pieces and boil in salted water for 20 minutes until soft. Drain, steam dry, mash, stir in hot milk, butter, salt and nutmeg.
- 2
Meat sauce
Meanwhile finely dice the onions, carrots and garlic. Brown the mince in the oil for 5 minutes, add the vegetables and fry 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and flour, cook 1 minute.
- 3
Reduce
Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper and simmer 15 minutes until thick — it should stand on a spoon. Stir in the peas.
- 4
Assemble
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Meat sauce into a gratin dish, spread the mash over and score with a fork — the ridges crisp up. Cheese on top.
- 5
Bake
Bake 25 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden on top and bubbling at the edges. Stand 5 minutes.
Tips
- With leftover bolognese from the freezer the bake takes 30 minutes: thaw the sauce, add peas, mash on top, bake.
- Assembled and unbaked it keeps a day in the fridge — then bake 35 minutes. Baked, three days; single portions freeze well.
- For Sunday: 1 dl red wine in the meat sauce, and beat an egg yolk into the mash — the crust then turns more golden and firmer.
What can I substitute?
The vegetarian bake. Brown the mushrooms first, add the lentils with the vegetables. With vegetable stock and 1 tbsp soy sauce for depth.
Boil and mash together. Sweet potato makes the mash sweeter and orange, celeriac more savoury.
Sweetcorn is the children's pick. Fry the leek with the onions.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the mash sink into the sauce?
The meat sauce was too runny. It must be thick enough to stand on a spoon — reduce uncovered 15 minutes, the flour binds it. And let the sauce cool 5 minutes before the mash goes on; on hot sauce it slides.
What is the difference between shepherd's pie and cottage pie?
The meat. Shepherd's pie is with lamb — hence the shepherd —, cottage pie with beef. In Switzerland it is made with beef or mixed mince and simply called a mince bake.
Can I use packet mash?
Yes, if it has to be quick — mix it a little firmer than the packet says so it forms a crust. Homemade tastes better but costs 20 minutes more.
What goes with a mince bake?
Nothing heavy — it is meat, vegetables and potatoes in one. A green salad with a sharp dressing, carrot salad or cucumber salad.
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