Brown beef mince in a pan over medium-high heat. Remove meat with a slotted spoon from the pan and set it aside on a plate nearby.  Pour remaining grease into a bowl.  You’ll need a spoonful or two of it for later when you are sauteing the vegetables.

Take 2-3 tbsp of beef grease and place in a pan over medium heat.  When hot, add 1 chopped onion, chopped celery and chopped carrot.  Saute together until soft.  This should take around 5-7 minutes.

When vegetables are softened, add drained browned beef, peas, fresh thyme and fresh rosemary.  Turn heat to medium-high and cook for a minute or two then sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour over the beef and vegetable mixture.  Let cook for a minute or two.

Next, add beer, beef stock, tomato paste and minced garlic.  Stir together and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once, at a boil reduce heat to low then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  After simmering, taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.  The mixture should be beautifully glossy with all the flavors melded together to make a delicious filling.

While the beef and vegetable mixture is stewing, work on the potatoes.  Peel and boil potatoes until cooked through.  Drain potatoes from the water and allow to steam dry for a couple of minutes.  Meanwhile, put the empty potato pot back on the stove burner and allow it to get hot.  Don’t turn on the stove, just place the pot back where you originally had it.  The goal is for the pot to get hot so that when the drained potatoes are added to it, it further dehydrates the potatoes forcing them to soak up all that butter.   Place the drained potatoes in the hot pot and let them sit there for a moment or two.  Add cubes of butter to potatoes and mash together.  Once all mashed, add milk and stir together until smooth.  Taste and season with sea salt and pepper to your liking.

Time to assemble the pie!

Pour the beef and vegetable filling into the bottom of a casserole dish or baking tray.  Using a spoon or piping bag, cover with mashed potatoes.  Spreading the mashed potatoes in an even layer with a spoon can be a little tricky, so if you want to make it easier and look pretty, fill up a piping bag with mashed potatoes and use that.

For the topping, grate 1 onion with shredded cheese and toss together until everything is evenly combined.  If you think grating an onion is too time-consuming and tear-inducing, simply just pulse it a couple of times in a food processor and toss with the grated cheese.

Finally, top the cottage pie with the cheese and onion mix.  You can add as much as you like or give it a light sprinkling if you are wary of dairy.

Bake in the oven for 40 min at 200C (400 F) or 180 C (350 F)with fan.  Remove cover halfway through and allow to brown on top.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes before diving into it.