Start by finely mincing half a large onion and 3-4 medium carrots. Chop a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and crush the garlic.
In a lightly oiled and preheated stainless steel pan, place 1 pound of ground lamb (or ground beef if you prefer). Break it up in the pan until brown. Drain any excess fat, but leave 2-3 Tbsp. in the pan.
Add the finely minced onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent around the edges. Add the carrots and sauté them for 2-3 minutes.
Make a hole in the middle of the pan and add the crushed garlic and tomato paste.
Mix together and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped rosemary and thyme and stir.
To make the sauce, add 1 Tbsp. flour to the mixture and mix until the raw flour smell is gone and a fond has formed on the bottom of the pot (about 2-3 minutes).
Deglaze with 1 cup of dark Irish Stout and 1 cup beef’s broth. Make sure to scrape up all the fond at the bottom while mixing. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Optional: now is when you can add 1 Tbsp. Madeira and 1 puck of frozen demi-glace if you have it.
Cook and mix together until thick. When you drag a spoon through the mixture, it should leave a trail.
In a separate pot, cook up some fresh peas. Frozen peas work just as fine and better. Set aside for pie assembly.
