Shepherd's pie _ menus for two

PREPARATION TIME: about 10minutes (excluding potatoes)
COOKING TIME: about 10 minutes
MICROWAVE SETTING: Maximum (Full)


1/2 onion, peeled and finely
chopped                               
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 beef stock cube,
crumbled
150ml (1/4 pint) boiling
water

225 g (8 oz) minced
cooked beef                        
salt
freshly ground black
pepper
225 g (8 oz) cooked
mashed potatoes

1. Combine the onion and oil in an oval 600ml (1 pint) flameproof pie dish and cook for 2 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until the onion is soft.
2. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-2 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until the onion browns.
3.  Dissolve the stock cube in the water and mix together thoroughly, then stir into the onion mixture. The flour will thicken naturally without further cooking.
4. Stir in the minced beef and season to taste with salt and pepper. Smooth the top with a palette knife.
5.  Pile or pipe the mashed potatoes over the meat and ridge with a fork. Cook for 6 minutes or until a thermometer registers 80°C/175°F, giving the dish a quarter turn  3  times  during  cooking.   Place  under  a preheated conventional grill to brown for a few minutes, if preferred.