Shepherds Pie Recipe
Shepherds Pie is a traditional English dish which dates back to the mid-1800’s and has evolved into all kinds of variations these days. Traditionally made with mince and mashed potato, putting a ‘twist’ on it can be lots of fun and impress any guests! We have stuck with more or less the traditional method, with a couple of additions. In fact, for those of you interested in food history, ‘shepherds pie’ was actually made from minced lamb, whereas ‘cottage pie’ was made from minced beef. For the purpose of this recipe, we have stuck to beef mince.
Shepherds Pie Recipe – Tips
- You can spice up the meat mixture with any herbs or spices to give it a different flavour.
- Instead of using just potatoes, use potatoes and parsnips for your shepherds pie topping.
- You could use sweet potatoes and mix with a curry seasoning for a spicier dish as your shepherds pie top.
- Add a couple of teaspoons of horseradish sauce to the potato ” again, this spices up the whole dish.
- Change the topping by adding sliced leeks and grated cheese before oven cooking.
- Serves: 4/5
- Preparation Time/Cooking Time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
- 1 tbs of oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 medium-sized carrots, chopped into small ‘cube’ type pieces
- 1 and a half lbs beef mince
- 12fl. oz/350 grams of good beef stock
- Fresh thyme leaves, about one stalk, or 1 tsp of dried thyme
- 2tbs of tomato puree
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Worcester sauce ” a few ‘glugs’ (to your taste, but it really does bring the flavour of the meat out)
- 3lbs/1 1/2 kg of potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3oz/100 grams butter
- 3 fl.oz/100 grams milk
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5.
- Using a large pan with a lid, heat the oil and cook on a relatively low temperature, then add the chopped onion and carrots for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until they are quite soft.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, stir fry the mince until it is browned, again taking care not to burn.
- Mix in the tomato puree, and then add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and thyme.
- Cover and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking. Season according to taste.
- Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash with the butter and the milk. Add the milk gradually to prevent the potatoes from being ‘too sloppy’. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Put the meat mixture into an ovenproof dish, top with the potatoes (make a nice pattern on the top with a fork) and place in the oven for approx. 20 mins until nice and brown on the top.
- For a crispier top, place under the grill for about a minute once you have cooked the pie. But watch carefully that it does not burn!
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