Potter’s Pie

I have a friend called Bob.  Bob and I go way back.  He lives in France & he talks funny, although he is really another escapee Brit.   Bob is a Potter.  I mean a real, live, full-time, professional Potter.  And while he may be an artist, he is certainly never starving.  When he’s not doing Demi Moore impressions on his potter’s wheel or firing pots in his enormous kilns, you’ll find him in his country kitchen, whipping up some tasty morsels.  He often feeds half the village, from what I can gather.

I remember the first time that Bob cooked me a meal made with minced (ground) beef.  I was astonished to discover (after eating platefuls of grey slop at home – my brother also remembers this horror well) that beef is actually brown.  And flavorful.  And, dare I say it, can make a terribly delicious dish.

So when Bob was making pie the other week, I got all nostalgic.  Then I remembered that I could count on one hand the number of pounds of ground beef I had purchased since I’d been stateside.  And the more I thought about Bob’s pie, the more I wanted to eat it.  Only Bob, as I said, is in France.  So if I was going to have Bob’s pie, I’d have to make the darn thing myself.  So I did.  This recipe will feed a family of six.  Consequently, it fed me for 6 days in a row.  Bob did suggest that I make it in individual portions and freeze most of them.  Sometimes Bob is right.  Like in this case.  However, because Bob is not always right, I didn’t listen.  I now wish I had.

Anyway.  Without further ado, here’s Bob’s pie, which I have renamed Potter’s Pie, because, after all, Bob is a {fabulous} Potter. 

Potter’s Pie (adapted from Bob the Potter’s recipe)

• 2½ lbs potatoes (peeled or not as you prefer)
• 4 oz salted butter
• 1/2 lb grated cheese
• 1 lb ground (minced) lean beef
• 4 oz bacon
• 1/2 lb carrots
• 1/2 lb onions
• 1 tin of beans in tomato sauce / Baked Beans
• Tomato Ketchup
• Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 beef stock cube
• Salt & pepper

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender.

Chop the bacon, the onions and the carrots (I grated the carrot because I like small pieces), and cook gently in olive oil in a large saucepan (skillet) until the onions have softened.

Add the minced beef, season with salt & pepper and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, turning frequently.

Add the beans, stock cube, and the tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to taste.  I used about ½ cup ketchup & 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, but you can add more or less depending on how you like it.

Stir & simmer over a low heat for around 20 minutes adjusting the seasoning to taste.  Stir frequently to ensure even cooking & stop the mixture sticking to the pan.

By now the potatoes will be cooked.  Mash them with the salted butter.

Pour the beef mixture into a deep oven dish.  PS. Bob said to tell you that if you don’t have a deep oven dish you can get a very lovely one here.  They ship internationally & have quite a following.

Cover the beef mixture with the mashed potato and cover the potato with the grated cheese.

Heat in a pre-heated oven at 450º F for around 15 minutes or until the cheese is browned & bubbling.

You can also make this in advance.  After you have put the potatoes on top of the beef mixture, cover with plastic wrap (cling film) and refrigerate.  When you want to eat it, remove the plastic wrap, cover with the grated cheese & cook in a pre-heated over at 450º F for around 50 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.

I like to eat Potter’s Pie with peas.  A big green salad would also be lovely.

Thanks, Bob.  That was one awesome pie.