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Mine is actually a pretty simple version. You can add beans, peas, or just about anything else you like to the mix to make it more stew-like.
~2.0 lbs lamb or beef
1 large onion, diced
1-2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1-2 cans Guinness (or stout of your choice)
12.0 oz. meat stock
2 TBSP tomato paste
1+ tsp. thyme,
salt and pepper
dredging flour
~3 pounds mashing potatoes
1 bunch gr. onion
0.75 Cup milk, cream, or half & half
4 TBSP butter
Cut meat into a fairly small cubes, about 1 inch on a side. Lightly season with salt and pepper, and a bit of flour, and brown it off with some oil in a heavy bottomed gumbo pot; don't overcrowd the vessel, work in batches if you need to. Once the meat has caramelized, remove it to a bowl and add the onions and cook them on moderately high heat until they start to take on some color, then add the tomato paste and continue to fry for a couple of minutes. Add the meat stock and 1 can of the black stuff. Return the meat and any juices to the pot and simmer it on med-low for 45 minutes to an hour, with the lid slightly ajar. Once the meat is very tender, add the carrots (or what-have-you) and thyme and cook until the veggie are just fork tender*. (If your pot has started to dry out by this time, you may add another half can of stout, or some water if you prefer. It should be juicy, but not soupy.)
Set the meat mixture aside to cool and steam your potatoes. You could bake them or microwave them if you're good at either of those methods. I peel mine, but that's your choice, as well. Once the potatoes are cooked, roughly mash them with a fork while they are still hot and spread them out in a large bowl to steam out for a few minutes. In the mean time, finely chop the green onions and throw them in a pan with the butter to soften. Once they've cooked enough to get rid of the raw taste, add in the milk, and turn up your burner. Also, add a good dose of salt to the mix, enough to season 3+ pound of potato, so that's about heaping teaspoon for me---less if the butter is salted. Once the mixture starts to scald, douse the potatoes and continue mashing to your heart's content. I like mine to be a bit on the chunky side, so I do it by hand, but you could certainly use a hand-mixer. If you like restaurant style, silky mashed, work the hot potatoes through a foodmill first, then add in the dairy and onion mixture.
In a large casserole dish, assemble the final product. Just dump in the meat mixture and smooth it out with a spatula. If you made a very smooth, whipped style champ, you can spoon it over the top pretty easily, but for thicker, chunkier potatoes, it's just easier to pipe them on unless you completely chill the meat first. I load the bunch into a big ziplock, nip off a corner and lay down one full layer, then make a second pass to uniformly distribute the XS topping. Use a wet spoon or spatula to flatten out any obvious ridges.
At this point, you can freeze the whole thing, or pop it in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes to heat it through and brown the top.
* I must admit that I got distracted and cooked my carrots to mush. They all but disappeared in the final product. It's really much better if they stay together.
