No potatoes anywhere in this. That is the whole premise.

Shepherd's pie is normally seasoned meat under a mashed potato lid. Here the lid is eggs, cream cheese, heavy cream and cheddar, whisked together and poured over the meat, where it sets in the oven into something between a custard and a souffle.

Two layers, seven ingredients, and about an hour start to finish including the browning.

The topping sets rather than crisps

Worth knowing what you are aiming for before you start, because it is not mashed potato and it will not behave like it.

Four eggs, half a cup of heavy cream and two hundred grams of cream cheese whisked together makes a loose pourable mixture. In the oven it sets from the outside in, puffs slightly, and goes golden on top where the cheddar is.

It stays soft and creamy underneath. If you are expecting a crust you will think it is underdone. It is not.

Whisk the cream cheese properly

Cold cream cheese will not blend into eggs and cream. It stays in lumps and those lumps bake into pale dense pockets running through the topping.

Take it out of the fridge ahead of time. Whisk the cream cheese with the cream first until it is smooth, then add the eggs one at a time. Doing it in that order gives you a much better chance than dropping everything in together.

Half the cheddar goes into the mixture and half gets scattered on top. The cheese inside adds body and stops the topping tasting purely of egg.

Brown the meat properly and let it cool

A kilogram of ground beef or lamb, broken into small pieces as it cooks, until it is fully browned rather than just grey.

Browning is where the flavour is. There are no onions here, no garlic, no herbs, nothing else contributing, so the meat has to carry the entire dish. Grey steamed mince makes a bland pie.

Then take the pan off the heat and let it cool slightly before assembling. Pouring an egg mixture over hot meat starts scrambling the eggs on contact, and you get curdled patches instead of a smooth set.

Beef broth if you have it

A quarter cup added to the meat once it has browned, cooked down for a couple of minutes so the meat absorbs it.

It is listed as optional and it earns its place. The meat sits under a rich topping for half an hour in the oven, and a little extra savoury depth underneath keeps the balance right.

Grated parmesan is the other optional addition, scattered over with the cheddar. It browns harder and sharper than cheddar does and gives the top more interest.

Baking it

375F for twenty five to thirty minutes. The top layer sets and takes on colour.

Ground beef needs to reach an internal temperature of 160F to be safe. The source does not give a number, so check with a thermometer through the meat layer rather than the topping.

Rest ten minutes out of the oven before cutting. The topping firms up considerably as it cools and cutting into it hot gives you a sloppy portion that tastes fine and falls apart on the plate.

Serving

Straight from the dish, cut into squares. Rich enough that portions can be smaller than you think.

A kilogram of meat plus all that dairy makes six generous servings. It reheats well in the oven, though the topping loses a little of its puff.

Beef or lamb

Lamb is the traditional choice for shepherd's pie and it brings a stronger, slightly gamey flavour that stands up to the dairy well. Beef is milder and more familiar. Both work and the method is identical.

Draining the fat

A kilogram of fatty mince releases a lot of fat. Drain most of it off before assembling, keeping a spoonful or two for flavour. Too much left in the dish pools around the edges as it bakes.