About the Recipe
Make this easy shepherd's pie recipe of a wintry evening – it's comfort food at its best. This one has a secret ingredient for extra savouriness. Don't worry about making it look fancy; the peaks and ridges on the mash just add to the appeal!

Ingredients
25g/1oz vegetable oil or beef dripping
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
500g/1lb 2oz lamb mince
1 tbsp plain flour
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 anchovy, finely chopped (optional)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
450ml/16fl oz chicken, beef or lamb stock
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mash
700g/1lb 9oz potatoes, peeled and cut into halves or quarters
55ml/2fl oz milk
85g/3oz butter
1 free-range egg yolk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the mince, stirring, until browned all over. While the meat is frying, break up any lumps with the back of the spoon.
Stir the onions, then add the flour and stir. Add the bay leaves, thyme and anchovy and stir. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock (keep a little aside, for putting into the mince pan to de-glaze the pan) and Worcestershire sauce.
Add the cooked mince and then pour the stock mixture into empty mince pan, scraping off any bits of mince left in the pan. Pour the remaining stock into the pan containing the sauce mixture. Bring the mixture to the boil, adding a pinch of salt and pepper and let it simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
For the mash, boil the potatoes until tender. Drain, add the milk, butter and egg yolk, then mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the meat into a 1.4-litre/2½-pint ovenproof dish and spread the mash on top, smooth over and mark with a spatula. Put the dish into the oven and cook until the surface is golden brown.