Me Mam's Mince Hot Pot

This is one of my mothers recipes, not saying she invented it, but she cooked it a lot for us over the years. Decided to get her to email me the recipe and knocked one up for my wife and kids today.

She's never quite adjusted to metric so expect to see some old measurements, but it's reassuring to know she can change a CD. That matches the talents of modern day DJ's if nothing else.

Ingredients

1lb of raw minced beef (about half a kilo)
1 tablespoon of olive oil.
4 ozs of streaky bacon.
1 large onion.
8oz can of tomatoes.
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce.
1 tablespoon of Tomato Puree.
Teaspoon of basil.
quarter pint of beef stock.
2 medium sized potatoes.
Salt and Pepper (I never add salt to food myself).

Method

Chop up the Bacon and the onions





Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions and bacon and fry gently for 5 minutes.



Add the mince and fry until nicely browned.





Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, basil, beef stock and required seasoning.













Bring to the boil and leave to reduce for 20 minutes.

In the mean time peal and slice the potatoes as shown.



Put them into boiling water and leave to boil until soft. Do not over cook as they will break, if you undercook they won't be so nice. For me tonight they took about 6 and a half minutes. In the mean time the meat is bubbling away nicely. If it starts to dry add some water or if the potatoes are nearly ready, just take it off the gas.





Once the potatoes are ready take them and drain them. Try to get them as sry as possible i.e. don't pick them out of the water and put them on a plate so they sit in water.



Then start to place them on top of the mince meat.



Then take an amount of butter and rub it across the potatoes. This gives them a nice crispy coating when completed.



Then place the pot into an oven for about 20 minutes. As the meat is already cooked you can always just grill at this point. Ideally an oven with grill is the best. The potatoes will absorb the juice from below and become nicely crispy on the top.

The final dish.



and as is traditional.... A Serving Suggestion.



Normally I'd prefer to have some brocolli with this, but I couldn't get any and didn't fancy carrots.