French Onion Shepherd's Pie

A different take on the classic Shepherd's Pie, this time with French onions.

Strictly speaking, since this uses beef, it should be called French Onion Cottage Pie.

Servings: 4

Author: Lucy Nunes - Delicious

750 g (1 lb. 10 oz.) potatoes peeled, cut into large chunks
salt flakes to taste
40 g (1½ oz.) butter
⅓ cup (80ml) milk
80 g (2¾ oz.) Comté cheese finely grated (you can substitute Gruyère, Parmesan, Emmental, Fontina, Swiss, Cheddar, Gouda, or Jarlsberg)

Preheat the oven to 425℉/220°C/200°C fan-forced.
For the mash, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Season with salt flakes and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to pan over low heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add butter and milk. Mash until smooth then stir through two-thirds of the cheese until well combined.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large deep heavy-based frypan over high heat. Add the onion, bay leaves and thyme and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes until dark golden and tender. Increase heat to high and add the mince. Cook, stirring to break up mince, for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with soup mix and stir until well combined.
Add 1 cup (250ml) water to the frypan, and bring to the boil, stirring to combine. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add the mustard and stir until combined.
Transfer beef mixture to a 3½ pint / 2L baking dish. Spoon mash into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe dollops of mash to cover the beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with a salad, if desired.

We gave this comforting cheesy dish a fancy look by piping the mash, but it will taste just as good if you simply spoon it over the mince.