Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is something I don’t remember having in ages. I believe the last time I ate Shepherd’s Pie was when I was at a snowboarding academy during my trip to Whistler ten to fifteen years ago. All I really knew at the time was that it was like a normal pie but with mashed potatoes instead of pastry.

The recipe I used was adapted from Alton Brown’s Recipe. I adjusted the quantities and ingredients due to availability and portioning. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients
For mashed potatoes:
800g potatoes
1/4 cup milk/cooking cream
60g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:
Cheddar Cheese
A swig of olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1kg ground lamb
Salt and Pepper to taste
All-purpose flour
4 teaspoons tomato paste
A few squirts Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
A swig of white wine (Note: I couldn’t find a red in time)

For the chicken broth:
Celery
Chicken Bone
Carrots
Onion
Half cube of chicken stock powder

Instructions
For Chicken Broth:

1. Mix all the ingredients with water and bring to boil.
2. Let it simmer for as long as you can.

For Mashed Potatoes:

1. Peel and dice the potatoes.
2. Boil the potatoes until soft enough that they would squish with tongs. Then, set aside to cool.
3. Mash the potatoes.
4. Mix the milk and butter together. Microwave for a minute or until the butter melts.
5. Stir in the milk-butter mixture. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
6. Mix in the egg yolk to bind the things together.

For Meat Filling:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Pour oil into pan and heat it up.
3. Add onions and carrots. Cook thoroughly, until lightly browned. This should take around 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
5. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through.
6. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute.
7. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly. I would add some flour if the thickness still isn’t there.
8. Throw in some of the wine to flavour the meat more.
9. Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into a glass baking dish.
10. Add a thin layer of cheddar cheese.
11. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a spoon.
12. Sprinkle with more cheddar on top for that nice orangey glaze.
13. Bake for 25 minutes or just until the top begins to brown.
14. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Then, it is ready to serve.

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In the end, the Shepherd’s Pie came out delicious. The mashed potato was creamy and was slightly infused with the flavour of the lamb mince. The cheese helped to add a more savoury twist to this meal. It made it more appetizing. In the end, the mashed potato layer was quite thick. So, thankfully, the mash tasted nice! Perhaps for future renditions of this recipe, I may reduce the amount of potato.

Congratulations to @annekins for winning my recipe guessing contest by guessing the exact dish I was making. @nazirullsafry was super close. The keyword was Shepherd’s Pie, the ingredients were right but the dish name was wrong. Maybe next time! Annekins, you will be seeing your prize soon!

Feel free to check out my other recipes:
Apple Risotto
Beef Wellington by Gordon Ramsay
Cauliflower Cheese
Family "Flavourite" Lasagna
Stout Beef and Cheese Pie by Jamie Oliver