The Shepherd's Pie

With the holidays around the corner, most of us are contemplating making something special yet simple to feature on our dinner table.

The Shepherd's pie is a dish of Irish origin and traditionally made up of ground lamb. It is also referred to as cottage pie when made up of ground beef. I have used ground beef in this recipe, but I fondly still refer to it as Shepherd's pie, because that had been my name for it before I learnt of the technicalities, and sometimes memories hold more value than technicalities right?

This shepherd's pie is a hearty casserole made up of ground red meat (lamb/beef) cooked with vegetables, layered with mashed potatoes on top and baked to delicious goodness. This recipe can also be made on a cast iron skillet and baked in the same, making it a one pan recipe. I saw this stunner for the very first time on “MasterChef Australia” many years ago and tried it at a family dinner and got great reviews. This is a really simple, wholesome meal for the entire family and I assure you that this recipe is one of the few that you just can't go wrong with no matter how hard you try.

The Shepherd's Pie

Serves: Serves 4-6

Prep time: 30 mins

Baking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Filling:

◻ 2 tbsp olive oil

◻ 1 onion large

◻ 1 carrot

◻ 2 sticks Celery

◻ 3-4 garlic minced

◻ ½ kg minced beef/lamb(lean meat)

◻ 1sp Rosemary

◻ 1tsp Thyme

◻ 1 tsp parsley

◻ 1 tsp pepper

◻ salt to taste

◻ 2tbsp tomato paste

◻ 2 tbsp flour

◻ 1½ cup beef/chicken broth(2 seasoning cubes dissolved in water)

◻ 2 tbsp Worchester sauce

Topping:

◻ 4 potatoes

◻ ¼ cup grated cheddar/parmesan

◻ 4 tbsp butter(softened)

◻ ½ cup milk

◻ 1 egg yolk

◻ ½ tsp Pepper

◻ Salt

Preparation:

1. To make the potato mash, peel the skin of the potatoes and cut them into equal sized pieces, wash and clean them, add it to a pot of water at room temperature and keep to boil for at least 20 minutes until cooked (meanwhile, chop all the vegetables and get all the ingredients set on the countertop).

2. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and set aside.

3. Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. Grate or finely chop the garlic and keep aside.

4. Heat a skillet and add olive oil to it, once warm, add the onions, cook until they become slightly translucent, add the grated garlic, stir for a few seconds and now add the carrots and celery. Cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes until they begin to sweat.

5. Add the ground meat to the vegetables and cook it well until it changes color from pink to brown. Cook for 5-8 minutes until the meat begins to caramelize a little. If the fat oozes out, you can drain it out from the side. Add the dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, pepper, salt (add in moderation as we will be adding the broth later).

6. At this stage, add the tomato paste and flour to the mix and combine it well with the mixture.

7. Once well incorporated, add the beef/chicken broth and the Worcestershire sauce. Add frozen peas at this point and bring the broth to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth if necessary to keep the meat from drying out. The filling should be moist and should have some gravy.

8. Keep the meat mixture aside and Preheat the oven to 400℃.

9. Mash the soft and cooled potatoes with a masher, fork or hands, add salt and pepper, fresh parsley (optional), grated cheese, butter, milk, egg yolk and mix until uniformly distributed, it will have a smooth and creamy texture.

10. Now that the filling and topping are ready, it is time to assemble the pie. This pie can be made in an oven proof skillet as well, so all you need to do then is just add the mashed potatoes on top. I use a casserole to assemble it. Pour the meaty gravy into the dish and level it with the back of a spoon. I used a ziplock bag and filled the mashed potatoes in it, seal and cut an opening at the tip and piped the topping on the pie (baker's instinct I suppose). You could also take spoonfuls of topping and gently add it to the top, start from the edges and smoothen it inwards.

11. There are many creative ways to add the filling, you can either pipe it with a piping bag and decorative nozzles or just spread out evenly and use the fork to get artistic with it. Go crazy and have fun.

12. Now keep it in the oven to bake for 30 minutes at 400℃ (those who like to add extra cheese and get a darker brown shade on the crust can take it out from the oven after 15 minutes and grate some extra cheese on the top and continue to bake for another 15 minutes).

P.S: The meat can be cooked in red wine instead of the beef/chicken stock which makes it richer in flavor. The dried herbs can be substituted with fresh ones and those who don’t have access to either can also use plain Italian seasoning instead. The egg yolk gives the mash a more fluffy consistency but can be omitted to still get a perfect topping. A vegetarian version can be made using minced soya and tastes equally fabulous. So now there are no excuses to why you can’t make this gorgeous savory dish this season!

Flavors with spice and all things nice ❤