This is an amazingly rich comfort food – it can be made with steak mince but I find the venison adds a deeper flavour to the pie.  Also, the onions on the top of the potatoes give the dish a nice crunch.  Can be made a couple of days in advance or frozen up to six months.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

500g venison mince

1 tbsp plain flour

2 medium carrots diced

1 onion chopped

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp Lea & Perrins sauce

100ml redwine

600 ml beef stock

1 tbsp Cassis (optional)

For the mash

1 kg potatoes (peeled and chopped)

150 ml semi-skimmed milk

100g butter

1 leek sliced

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat and add the venison, breaking it up to ensure it is all well browned.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick.  If it does stick, add a little extra oil
2. Stir in the carrot and onion and cook for a further 10 minutes
3. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and cook for a further 2 minutes
4. Stir in the Bay leaves, Ketchup, Lea & Perrins and wine and let it bubble for a few minutes, before gradually adding in the stock followed by the Cassis (if using)
5. Leave to simmer for around 30 minutes until you have lovely venison mince in a rich gravy
6. Tip into a baking dish and leave to cool
7. For the topping, cover the potatoes with cold water and a good pinch of salt, bring to the boil, then simmer until cooked through.
8. Drain the potatoes well and leave to steam for a few minutes before adding the milk and 75g of the butter.  Season well and spread over the venison mince
9. Finally, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and fry the onions until they are soft and start to brown.  Remove from the heat and dot over the mash
10. When ready to use, heat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the pie for around 40 minutes until piping hot

Karen’s tip – I know I’ve said this before but do invest in a food thermometer – dishes like this can look piping hot on the sides but may not be quite as warm in the middle