Food - Casbah

Last week we needed to get a photo of some shepherd’s pie on production day, so I went round the corner to the Casbah to get a takeaway portion. It came wrapped in silver foil in a polystyrene base and I had to wait until the photographer had done with it before I could eat it. I was starving. It was delicious. It came with a topping of cheese, and had loads of bits of peas and carrots in the meat. I wolfed it down in seconds. It only cost three quid. The next day, hungry again, I opted for a sit-down version of the same thing. The Casbah, where I had only previously eaten hung-over full breakfasts, was decked out in tinsel and bells. I was kept company by the Sun and the Mirror. This time it came with helpings of carrots, cabbage, broccoli and peas. With a cup of tea it cost £7. Call me obsessed, but at the weekend I tried to make my own version. Lamb cooked with onions, and a root mash topping. I nicked the cheese idea. What a nutritious bomb. I think it contributed to my falling asleep during On The Waterfront afterwards. I wasn’t finished. Hungry again on Tuesday I was back in the Casbah, with my girlfriend. Only then I realised that what I’d been having was cottage pie instead of shepherd’s pie, i.e. beef instead of lamb. No matter. It comes in a porcelain boat, and I used a teaspoon, when no one was looking, to scrape the last bits out. A fine winter warmer. Try it out. AL