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Sheperds pie
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Sheperds Pie

A meat-pie dish, topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked in the oven
Course Main Course
Cuisine British Cuisine
Keyword bakeddish, maindish, meat pie, mincedlamb, sheperds pie
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

for the mince filling

  • 500 gm minced lamb
  • 1 big onion chopped
  • 1 celery stick chopped
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 tsp rosemary, thyme, parsley either dried or freshly chopped
  • 1 tsp crushed black pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cube chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
  • 2 tsp worcestershire sauce or wooster sauce as I call it
  • 1-2 tbsp chilli and coriander powder optional
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder optional
  • salt to taste

for the potato crust

  • 2 big potatoes cubed
  • water for cooking potatoes
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2-3 tbsp milk
  • sprinkle of nutmeg powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup mixed grated cheese (Cheddar, mozzarella, gouda) optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
  • Start by cooking the potatoes. Peel, chop and immerse the potatoes in water. Boil until it is fork tender. Drain and set aside
  • In a heavy bottom pan, fry the mince until it turns brown and releases the fat
    sheperds_pie_mince
  • Add the mirepoix ( trio of onion, carrot and celery) and cook until onion has slightly softened
    sheperds_pie_mirepoix
  • At this point, add some butter (optional) if there is not enough fat to cook the vegetables
    sheperds_pie_mirepoix_butter
  • This is the optional step - purely for spicing up the dish. You can skip this and move on the next step if you prefer. Add the spice powders (turmeric, chilli and coriander) and fry for a minute or two until combined
    sheperds_pie_spices
  • Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and worcestershire (wooster) sauce
    sheperds_pie_wooster
  • Add either the dried or freshly chopped rosemary, thyme and parsley
    sheperds_pie_rosemary_thyme
  • dissolve chicken stock cube in a cup of water and add to the pan along with the frozen corn kernels. Combine well and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes
    sheperdspie_corn
  • Meanwhile mash the potatoes with butter, milk and salt and pepper.
    sheperds_pie_mash_milk_pepper
  • To assemble the pie, in a baking dish, layer the mince first.
    sheperdspie_mince_layer
  • Add the mashed potatoes as the next layer. I prefer add scoops of the mash on top of the mince and then spread it out. This method is easier to spread the mash over the mince, else it ends up pulling up the mince when trying to spread over
    sheperdspie_mash_layer
  • Top off with grated cheese and bake in oven for 10 minutes. For the last 4 minutes, turn on the broiler to brown the cheese
    sheperdspie_cheese_toppinng
  • Garnish with chopped parsley and serve as-is or if you wish a crisp green salad
    sheperdspie

Notes

  1. If the gravy is too watery, add a tsp of all purpose flour to thicken it up
  2. Add the potatoes in scoops when layering, it is so much easier to smooth it over the mince
  3. You can avoid the cheese completely. If you wish to not add cheese, simply run a fork along the potatoes to create small ridges. This will help it brown nicely.