This sauce is essentially a ragu sauce which we also use as the base for lasagne, chilli and spag bol. The longer you can leave it before making the final dish the better (preferably overnight) as the flavours will blend together.

Take a pack of Quorn swedish meatballs and break them up so they resemble chunky mince. We think these taste better than the Quorn mince, but it’s only a matter of opinion. Fry the ‘mince’ in a little olive oil and remove to a separate bowl. Add a little more oil if necessary and gently fry a chopped onion, along with some chopped red pepper, chopped mushrooms (if liked) until they have softened slightly. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, and some chopped fresh tomatoes (skins and seeds removed) if you have them available. We sometimes add a small tin of sweetcorn too. Rinse out the tomato tin with a good slug of red wine and add to the pan. Squirt in some concentrated tomato paste. Season and stir well. Keep on a low-medium heat until the mixture has reduced to the right consistency. If you have it, I would then stir in some chopped up thyme, oregano or marjoram herbs (or a mixture of them). Basil also works well.

Make a good quantity of mashed potato: peel and chop roasting or baking potatoes e.g. King Edward variety or similar into chunks (the smaller the chunks the faster they cook). Rinse in cold water to remove some of the starch and then bring to the boil in a pan of water and simmer until a fork pierces them easily. Drain off the water and return briefly to the stove to drive off any remaining water and prevent soggy mashed potato. Add a generous knob of butter, a good slug of double cream and seasoning to the potato and mash well using a potato masher. Finish the creaming process using a wooden spoon and some elbow grease to make sure it is free of lumps. Then stir in some grated cheddar cheese.

Put the ragu sauce into the bottom of a casserole or lasagne dish. Top generously with cheesy mashed potato. Run a fork across the top to generate peaks as this will give nice crispy bits. Bake in the oven at 180 °C/Gas Mark 6 for 30-40 minutes until the potato has taken on a nice golden colour.