Shepherd’s Pie
Specific to England, both the British and Irish take credit for what originally was a way to serve leftover lamb or mutton and potatoes. Today, it's a hearty and delicious casserole for a cold winter's day.
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, 1747
The first known recipe for Shepherd's Pie was printed in 1747 in the British cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse. It was actually called Cottage Pie, the only distinction being that it was made with beef rather than lamb. But the dish that evolved into what we today know as Shepherd's Pie was much older among the sheep herders of the British Isles and came about as a way to use up leftovers. Today, most recipes for Shepherd's Pie in the US will call for equal amounts of ground beef and lamb.
Shepherd's Pie is essentially a casserole. There are many variations on the theme, but the common elements are ground meat and vegetables, usually peas and carrots, in a savory broth, topped and diced or mashed potatoes. More traditional recipes will call for lamb exclusively, and not necessarily ground. Putting cheese on top, however, is not traditional, but many modern recipes, including mine, call for it.
You will need a 9" x 13" Pyrex glass baking dish for this recipe, or something similar that is long and low.
I adapted this recipe from a recipe app called Big Oven, but they had over twenty Shepherd's Pie recipes, as diverse as you can imagine. This is an amalgamation of the recipes I paid attention to and using the products I had available at the time.
Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 8-oz jar mushrooms, drained (like, Green Giant)
- 2 cups frozen green peas & carrots, thawed
- 3/4 cup chicken stock (like Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes (like, Hunt's)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 3 large Russet potatoes
- 4 tbsp table salt for the boiling water
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (like, Sargento)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 10-12 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Peel and roughly dice the potatoes. Cover with cold salted water in a large pot.
- Put the potatoes on the stove over high heat and boil until they are fork tender (20-30 minutes after the water comes to the boil). You can start the rest of the recipe while the potatoes are cooking.
- When the potatoes are done, drain well through a colander, then mash by hand with a potato masher with half of the butter and the cream. You want the potatoes firm and just a little lumpy.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and sauté the beef and lamb until all pink is gone. Season with salt and pepper while you cook.
- Remove the meat from the skillet onto a platter using a slotted spoon. You want to make sure the meat is drained of any liquid or grease, which you can discard.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- With a little more olive oil if needed and continuing over medium high heat, sauté the onions until they "sweat" but not brown, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining half of the butter and when melted, toss in the mushrooms and heat through.
- Add the green peas & carrots, green onions and tomatoes, continuing to sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the ground meat back into the skillet, with the thyme, parsley and season with more salt and pepper, then stir well to combine until all ingredients are combined and heated through.
- Make a slurry out of the chicken stock and the flour by combining and whisking until blended. Pour the slurry into the meat mixture and bring the liquid up to a simmer allowing it to thicken. You should have a little liquid in the bottom of your skillet that would coat the back of a spoon, but the dish should not be runny.
- Remove from the stove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before assembling the dish.
- Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with the non-stick spray. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into the pan and smooth it out so the top is more or less level.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes to cover the top of the meat and vegetable mixture fully, using the back of a fork to spread the potatoes as you go. The layer should be 1/8" to 1/4" thick.
- Top with the grated cheddar cheese and bake in oven until slightly browned and bubbly, about 35-45 minutes.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
