With the turn back to our more traditional weather, it's time to bring out an old classic. I loved this as a kid and still do. It's one of the first dishes I cooked regularly when I left home so I thought I would take a little time to level it up. Not too much, as you can go overboard with these things, but a little extra care can go a long way.

With the addition of a little lard here, some double cream there and generous helpings of butter, this recipe delivers a satisfying dose of warm childhood memories all topped with epic mash.

This is one of those dishes that doesn't need much love but still rewards. So this recipe is about taking a bit of extra time, not loads, but enough to take it from a midweek family classic to something fit to serve on a Sunday in place of your roast.
 

Step 1 - The base

1st ten minutes

• In a heavy bottomed frying pan with a lid, melt some butter and a little olive oil over a low heat
• Finely chop the onions, add to the pan with a teaspoon of salt
• Give a good stir and cover. Give a shake every couple of minutes so the onions don't stick. The salt will encourage them to give off moisture and the steam from this will help keep them moist whilst they soften.
  If at any point in this process they are sticking or catching, add a little water
• Whilst the onions are cooking, finely chop the leek and carrots
• After 10 minutes, the onions should be sweet and translucent

2nd ten minutes

• Add the leek and carrots, give a good stir and cook for another 10 minutes
• Next, add a heaped tbsp of tomato puree, stir in and cook this out for a few minutes
• Add the bay leaves, tearing them a little but keeping them whole
• Add another knob of butter and knob of lard, stirring through until melted

3rd ten minutes

• Add in a decent glass of red wine, raise the heat a little and cook for 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol
• Cover and reduce to a low heat

Step 2 - The mince

• Put the oven on at 180C
• In batches, brown off the mince in a little olive oil then add to the base
• When it's all done, add some good splashes of Worcestershire sauce and stir it all through until well mixed
• Cover, turn off the heat and leave while you prep the mash

Step 3 - The mash

• Peel and chop the potatoes, drop them into salted boiling water
• Whilst the potatoes are boiling, in another saucepan add the cream, butter, milk and mustard and put on a very low heat. Make sure it doesn't boil
• When the potatoes are ready, drain and add back to the saucepan
• Pour the rich creamy mixture over the potatoes and mash until as smooth as you like
   

Step 4 - The finish

• In a relatively deep dish, add the base, pressing down
• Add a few knobs of butter on top
• Dollop as much mash as you can
• With a folk, be as creative as you like. I like to create lots of peaks and troughs which create crispy bits as well as pockets to catch the melted cheese
• Finally grate over some cheese. Cheddar works well, though I sometimes use Red Leicester too
• Stick it in the oven for twenty minutes, if you need some extra crisp and colour, an extra couple of minutes under the grill will sort that out

Cottage Pie

• Olive oil
• 3 onions
• 2 carrots
• 1 leek
• Butter
• Lard
• Tomato puree
• Bay leaves
• Glass of red wine
• 750g beef mince
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1.3kg potatoes (Maris Piper)
• 100ml double cream
• 150ml whole milk
• 50g salted butter
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Ground white pepper
• Cheddar cheese