Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Shepherd's Pie is ground lamb and mashed potato pie recipe that originated in the United Kingdom. It is similar ot Cottage Pie which is made with ground beef instead of ground lamb and also similar to the French version called Hachis Parmentier. This delicous Shepherd's pie recipe is easy to make and it will be a food that you will remember and would always wish for more.
Servings 6
Calories 652kcal
Equipment
- Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 kg ground Lamb or ground mutton
- 8 large russet Potatoes or yukon gold potatoes
- ½ tsp black pepper powder
- ¼ tsp red chili pepper
- 1½ cup Lamb stock you can use gravy or bouillon cubes dissolved in water
- 4 medium-sized Carrots diced
- 2 sticks of Celery diced
- 1 large Onion chopped
- 5 sprigs of thyme fresh
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ tsp of dried Rosemary
- 4 tbsp of Butter unsalted
- ½ cup of Milk or cream
Instructions
Cook and Mash the Potatoes for the Topping
- Cut your potatoes into smaller chunks. This makes it easier to cook in time. You need the potatoes to be properly cooked in order to mash them.
- After cutting the potatoes, bring them into a large pot and wash them thoroughly and then add some clean water to just cover the top of the potatoes in the pot.
- Add 1/4 tsp of salt, cover the potatoes and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they are soft and tender. When cooked, the potatoes can be pierced with a fork and the fork goes in easily and can also be removed without being sticky to the potatoes.
- As the potatoes are cooking, you can start dicing and cutting your vegetables and herbs. Dice the carrots, celery, onions, and fresh sprigs of thyme.
- After cooking the potatoes, drain the water and then mash the potatoes using a potatoes masher or a potato ricer.
- After mashing the potatoes, add 4 tbsp of unsalted butter, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of black pepper. Mix everything to combine nicely and keep aside.
Making the Shepherd's Pie Filling
- Place a pan on the stovetop and add 3 tbsp of olive oil and allow the oil to heat up.
- Once heated, add the chopped onions and saute for about 3 minutes until the onion is slightly wilted.
- Next, add 3 minced garlic cloves, and also saute until it is fragrant.
- Now, add the remaining vegetables: diced celery sticks and carrots; cook until the carrots are tender. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Go in with the ground lamb or mutton and use a spatula to break it apart into tiny pieces. You need to do this quickly because once heated, ground lamb or meat can form balls that may be hard to break apart. Cook for 6 minutes until the lamb is no longer pink in color.
- Season the lamb with dried rosemary, chopped fresh thyme, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, and a pinch of salt.
- Also, add frozen peas and lamb stock. You can substitute the lamb stock with a mixture of bouillon cubes dissolved in water; you can use a gravy for this also. Stir everything to combine and then cover and cook for 12 minutes until the lamb is tender.
- Add 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 tsp of red chili pepper for more heat. This is optional if you don't want pepper. Stir to combine.
- Next, make a slurry of cornstarch by adding 3 tbsp of water to 2 tbsp of cornflour/cornflour; pour the slurry over the meat filling in the pan and stir immediately to avoid the formation of lumps by the cornflour mixture when heated. The cornstarch helps to thicken the filling of the Shepherd pie.
- Cover the filling and cook for 2 minutes until it thickens up and then turn off the heat.
- Pour the filling into a casserole dish or your baking dish.
- Use a spatula or spoon to level the top of the filling to become flat.
- Scoop in the mashed potatoes over the filling so that the mashed potatoes completely cover the pie filling. Also, use a spoon to spread the mashed potatoes and then flatten the top.
- You can use a fork to draw over the top of the mashed potatoes so that it forms stripes. This helps to give a crispy crust to the shepherd's pie.
- Preheat your oven to a temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or when you notice the golden brown surface of your Shepherd's pie.
- You can bring it out of the oven and your easy homemade Shepherd's pie is ready!
Video
Notes
Lamb is the accepted meat to use for your shepherd's pie recipe; however, beef is also used in some countries such as the United States. Some people even try out turkey or chicken in theirs.
Just note that, for it to be called Shepherd's Pie, it must be made with ground lamb, or else it would be called cottage pie if you are using ground beef.
Whatever, you are using, this easy shepherd's pie recipe is great and would definitely be one of your favorite English recipes.