Neil Perry's Shepherd's pie and spiced date cake

With the arrival of winter, it's time to heat up the hearth and make a baking date with a golden shepherd's pie and a spiced date cake to die for.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

1kg lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm dice

4½ tbsp olive oil

2 tsp plain flour

2 brown onions, peeled, cut into 1cm dice

2 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways, cut into 1cm pieces

4 celery stalks, cut into 1cm pieces

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (no stems)

1 tbsp tomato paste

750ml cabernet sauvignon

2 bay leaves

750ml chicken stock

800g désirée potatoes

55g butter

80ml milk

80ml pouring cream

parmesan cheese, to grate over mash

olive oil, to drizzle over mash

Serves 4

Season the lamb well with sea salt and dust lightly in flour. In a large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil over a high heat. Add the lamb to the hot oil in batches and brown all over for about 1 minute. Remove the lamb with a slotted spoon and reserve, discarding any excess fat.

Preheat oven to 130°C. In a deep ovenproof saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining 2 1/2 tbsp oil over medium heat and add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes over a low heat until softened. Add the tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the red wine and simmer until the wine reduces to about 250ml (about 10-15 minutes). Add the bay leaves and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and then add the lamb and bring to a simmer.

Cover and place in the oven for about 2½ hours until the lamb is tender. Remove from oven and strain liquid into a pan, reserving vegies and lamb.

In a pan, slowly reduce the liquid for 10 minutes, skimming off any impurities. Fold vegetables and lamb through the reduced sauce. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Steam potatoes whole until tender. Cool slightly and peel. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or put through a mouli until smooth. Combine butter, milk and cream in a saucepan, season to taste with salt and white pepper and bring almost to the boil. Slowly add the hot-cream mixture to the hot mashed potatoes and mix until well combined and almost smooth.

Place lamb mixture in a baking dish, and top with potato mash. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and drizzle with olive oil to moisten cheese. Place in oven at 160°C for 8-10 minutes to heat evenly, then place under grill at medium heat to caramelise the cheese. Remove and serve immediately.

SPICED DATE CAKE

380g dried, seeded dates, chopped

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

90g unsalted butter, chopped, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

3 whole eggs

225g (1½ cups) self-raising flour

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground ginger

light pouring custard or crème anglaise, to serve

Serves 8-12

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease a deep 24cm round cake pan, line base and sides with baking paper.

Combine dates with 300ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove from heat. Stir in bicarbonate of soda and allow to stand for 5 minutes. With a blender, process date mixture until smooth.

Cream butter and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until well combined, then beat in eggs one at a time.

Sift flour with spices. Gently fold into the creamed butter and sugar mix then fold in cooled date mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer (the skewer should come out cleanly when inserted into the cake).

Stand cake in pan 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. Serve with light pouring custard or crème anglaise.

HOT TIPS

* You can change the pie filling to beef – just cook it a little longer.

* If you find the mashed potato too heavy, try topping the pie with puff pastry.

* If the date cake starts to over-brown during baking, cover it with foil.

* The cake is awesome with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream if custard is not to your liking.

SOMETHING TO DRINK

Sherry

The richness of the fig, date and Christmas pudding flavours in the Sanchez Romate Cardenal Cisneros Pedro Ximenez ($57) from Jerez, Spain, will marry perfectly with the spiced date cake.

Photography by William Meppem. Food styling by Hannah Meppem. Food preparation by Nick Banbury.