Savoury Mince (and 5 ways to serve it)

My kids and I love the rich gravy of savoury mince, and it makes a very economical meal. My mum always served it with rice when I was growing up, but I rarely do that now – there are lots of other things to do with it!

Ingredients

1 tbsp. oil
500g/1lb minced beef
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
500ml/2 cups beef stock (stock cubes or powder is fine)
1 cup frozen peas

Method

1. Heat the oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan and cook the onion and carrot gently for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the beef, turning it over and breaking up big clumps until well browned.
2. Add the flour to the pan, stirring for 1 minute, then add the rest of the ingredients one at a time, stirring in between each one.
3. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low, cover and let bubble away for at least 15 minutes (it’s better if it cooks for 30-40 minutes!).

Ways to serve Savoury Mince

1. Cottage pie: Pour the mince into a casserole dish and top with a layer of mashed potato. Brush with melted butter and grill or bake in a hot oven (200°C) Until bubbling and starting to turn golden.
2. On toast for breakfast or lunch. Even better topped with a poached egg.
3. In a pie: Line a pie dish with shortcrust pastry (I’m not amazing at pastry, so I often buy frozen ready-rolled), add the mince, brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash, put the top on, brush the whole top with egg wash, cut 2 holes to let steam escape, then bake at 180°C for about half an hour until golden.
4. With rice, like my Mum!
5. As a cobbler: (see picture) Top with buttery dumplings and bake at 200°C until the dumplings are risen and golden. Dumplings: Put 250g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt and 100g cold butter (cubed) into a food processor and whizz to evenly-sized crumbs (or rub the butter in with your fingertips in a bowl). Add 1 egg and 2 tbsp. milk and mix until it comes together as a dough. Roll into golfball-sized balls and flatten them slightly. Place them on top of your savoury mince, chicken casserole or beef stew and bake as above.

Did you have savoury mince as a kid? Did you like it then? Do you make it for your kids? Let me know in the comments!