Friday supper and Much Maligned Mince

There are so many different versions of a shepherds pie (usually with lamb), cottage pie (ditto beef), shepherdess (vegetarian version) that some might think that it's not worth the time and effort giving much maligned mince a mention – hope you like the alliteration.

However I'm including my version for Friday supper called Spie – literally shepherds pie but I got fed up with writer's cramp labelling leftovers, shortened it and the title has stayed.

Sorry to sound like a broken record but food and recipes are personal, one man's meat is another man's poison and all that …. me, I loath wet/sloppy food and my overriding memory of shepherds pie as a child is both wet and sloppy. Not that I am a mashed potato snob – I just don't see why you'd create work peeling, boiling and mashing, not to mention the extra washing up, when you've no time nor inclination when you're busy and/or after a days work. The baked jackets just fit the bill.

There are so many variations to the basic theme, for example mix your grated cheddar with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan - sprinkle over your potatoes. Other cheeses that work well are Red Leicester and Gruyere.

Success of a recipe is measured by how often it's requested and whether you have any leftovers. The Spie meets the brief on both counts.