Friday 11 September 2009

AN OLD FAVOURITE


“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” - Mark Twain

A classic dish for this Food Friday. This is Shepherd’s Pie, originally cooked on the day after a lamb roast was had, but one can now cook it as first off rather than a left over meal as well, since lamb mince is readily available. However, if you have some lamb roast left over from the previous day, you can certainly chop it up and substitute that for the lamb mince.

Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
800g potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
500g lamb mince (or left over lamb roast)
2 carrots, grated
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chopped rosemary
2 tbsp plain flour
375ml beef stock
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Method
(Preparation Time: 20 minutes; Cooking Time: 25 minutes; Serves 4)
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place potatoes into a saucepan of boiling salted water. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, return to saucepan, add butter and milk, mash until smooth.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add mince and carrot, cook until browned.
3. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and rosemary, cook, stirring, for 2-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in flour. Slowly add stock, stirring after each addition, until combined. Return to heat. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Spoon into a 2 Litre (8-cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Top with mashed potato then sprinkle over cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Have a good weekend!

5 comments:

  1. It's an old favorite at my house too, except with some slight recipe variations and with ground beef instead of lamb (lamb seems less available in our grocery stores). I learned it from my mother, who got it from her mother, who got it from her Scottish-born mother. No way of knowing how long the family has enjoyed this wonderful dish.

    I always added a layer of green beans between the meat and the potatoes as a way of getting the kids to eat their vegetables. It seemed to work.

    This is comfort food at it's best.

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  2. A favourite of ours too even in a hot climate.

    I sometimes throw in a tin of baked beans (sans tin!)

    I tend to use lean ground beef too (I used to mince my own!) and keep the lamb for the Moussaka.

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  3. My grandmother was very particular about this dish and always called a similar dish made with beef "Cottage Pie" and the one made with lamb "Shepherds Pie". They both had the potato on top.
    I make it with left-over roast meat.

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  4. Have made it many times and it is always received well. It's versatile.

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  5. I make only if I have to because personally, I prefer the mince and the potatoes separate.A little idiosyncratic?
    probably:)

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