Shepards Pie

coolguy

How do you make a Shepards Pie?

Dizzyblonde

Here's my recipe, but because I use minced beef some would call it cottage pie. You can use minced lamb if you prefer.

1lb of lean minced beef
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pint of hot water
2 red Oxo cubes
A teaspoon of tomato puree
A dessertspoon of flour - any kind
A dash of Worcestershire Sauce if you have it
A pinch of mixed herbs
Fry the onion and carrot in a little oil over a low heat until they start to soften. Turn up the heat and add the minced beef, fry until browned. Sprinkle on the flour and stir well over a low heat for a minute. Pour on the stock made with the Oxo cubes and hot water and stir well. Add the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and herbs then season with salt and black pepper (not too much salt!). Stir well and add a little more hot water if it looks too thick. Simmer for around 30 minutes.
Place in an oven-proof dish and cover with potatoes mashed with real butter and milk until light and fluffy, and drag a fork across the top to rough it up. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees, gas mark 5.
For a change you can cover it with new potatoes sliced thickly and boiled until tender. Place them overlapping on top of the meat sauce and brush with oil.

olaola

Shepards Pie (lamb mince) Cottage pie (beef mince)

You make them in the same way. I have to say… and this is my only shortcut I use while cooking (except for puff pastry)! But I think it tastes so good, I don't see the point in putting more effort in. A can of Cambells vegetable soup. Fry mince, add onion. When cooked - lash in the can & some water. Simmer for a while. Cook potatoes, and mash them with milk/butter. You can add grated cheese into the mash, which is nice. Then put the mince into a dish, spuds on top. And you can grill if eating straight away or let go cold and pop into the oven for about 30 mins at 180. The recipe is on the side of the can if you go this route. I sometimes add some frozen peas into the mix before I put it in the dish.

I always have mine with home made coleslaw and brown sauce. Hahm! I think I'll have it tonight now

Alun

[spell pedant mode]

If you're Googling for recipes, it's spelt shepherd's pie, not shepard's pie BTW, despite many results coming up under Google for the incorrect spelling.

[/spell pedant mode]

Ponster

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055412267

the beer revolu

Proper shepherd's pie is made with left over roast lamb or mutton which is ground or chopped finely - not raw mince lamb and definitely not mince beef! (as stated, that's cottage pie).
It's good to have left over gravy too!

coolguy

I had Shepard's Pie on Friday - Dizzyblonde's recipe.
It was very nice.

hussey

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

.....

This is exactly how I make it, expect I add in peas also

Great recipe!

Dizzyblonde

coolguy wrote: »

I had Shepard's Pie on Friday - Dizzyblonde's recipe.
It was very nice.

I'm glad you liked it

MJOR

Dizzy blonde is a guru

JIZZLORD

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Here's my recipe, but because I use minced beef some would call it cottage pie. You can use minced lamb if you prefer.

1lb of lean minced beef
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pint of hot water
2 red Oxo cubes
A teaspoon of tomato puree
A dessertspoon of flour - any kind
A dash of Worcestershire Sauce if you have it
A pinch of mixed herbs
Fry the onion and carrot in a little oil over a low heat until they start to soften. Turn up the heat and add the minced beef, fry until browned. Sprinkle on the flour and stir well over a low heat for a minute. Pour on the stock made with the Oxo cubes and hot water and stir well. Add the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and herbs then season with salt and black pepper (not too much salt!). Stir well and add a little more hot water if it looks too thick. Simmer for around 30 minutes.
Place in an oven-proof dish and cover with potatoes mashed with real butter and milk until light and fluffy, and drag a fork across the top to rough it up. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees, gas mark 5.
For a change you can cover it with new potatoes sliced thickly and boiled until tender. Place them overlapping on top of the meat sauce and brush with oil.

very similar to mine, except i always put in a good dollop of wholegrain mustard and i use peas too

Berbatov

JIZZLORD wrote: »

very similar to mine, except i always put in a good dollop of wholegrain mustard and i use peas too

Similar to mine too. Instead of Oxo cubes I use beef stock, a glass of red wine. Also i grate in the carrot, good way to sneak in some veg!!

Oh and fresh Rosemary or Thyme instead of dired mixed hers.

crashbangwollop

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Here's my recipe, but because I use minced beef some would call it cottage pie. You can use minced lamb if you prefer.

1lb of lean minced beef
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pint of hot water
2 red Oxo cubes
A teaspoon of tomato puree
A dessertspoon of flour - any kind
A dash of Worcestershire Sauce if you have it
A pinch of mixed herbs
Fry the onion and carrot in a little oil over a low heat until they start to soften. Turn up the heat and add the minced beef, fry until browned. Sprinkle on the flour and stir well over a low heat for a minute. Pour on the stock made with the Oxo cubes and hot water and stir well. Add the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and herbs then season with salt and black pepper (not too much salt!). Stir well and add a little more hot water if it looks too thick. Simmer for around 30 minutes.
Place in an oven-proof dish and cover with potatoes mashed with real butter and milk until light and fluffy, and drag a fork across the top to rough it up. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees, gas mark 5.
For a change you can cover it with new potatoes sliced thickly and boiled until tender. Place them overlapping on top of the meat sauce and brush with oil.

Thanks dizzy blonde, very helpful.

The secret in my opinion is the mash... Yes use butter and milk with the mash but if you add a little garlic puree and parsley it'll be amazing with some seasoning. Grated cheese and and egg yolke are optional.

I'm still experimenting with the gravey/sauce with the meat though...
Meat, onions, carrots, (peas optional), tomato puree, (red wine optional), (stock cubes optional).... I like a thick rich gravy... Any tips to perfect my dish???

crashbangwollop

Berbatov wrote: »

Similar to mine too. Instead of Oxo cubes I use beef stock, a glass of red wine. Also i grate in the carrot, good way to sneak in some veg!!

Oh and fresh Rosemary or Thyme instead of dired mixed hers.

Rosemary and/or Thyme adds to the flavour sooooo much as does a dollop of garlic puree and parsley to the mash. Cheese and egg yolks are optional.

crashbangwollop

PS what does flour add to the dish???

Ponster

crashbangwollop wrote: »

PS what does flour add to the dish???

A couple of things (at least for me!)

When you add the water/stick, the flour that you have previously added will help thicken the stew. So that it's more gravy-like rather than soup-like.

Also I find that when frying cubes of meat in a cast-iron pot, the flour stops the meat sticking to the bottom.

Dizzyblonde

crashbangwollop wrote: »

PS what does flour add to the dish???

The flour thickens the gravy - without it it would be quite watery.

With regard to perfecting the dish, I think that you can tweak these things too much sometimes and over-complicate them. I will try putting cheese in the mash next time though

PFJSplitter

Thanks for the recipe, Dizzyblonde, and thanks to all for the added tips.

I DO like Shepherd's pie with peas, pearled onions, grated or finely diced carrots, a little bit of barley, and tarragon (plus rosemary & thyme, of course) for the Greek flavour.


Thanks again!

Cleansheets

My recipe is similar to dizzyblondes but I like to add some peas and mushrooms to increase the veg content (always trying to sneak them into kids at every turn!) I add Dijon Mustard too.
My recipe is on my blog www.cleansheets.ie
I love it for a crowd as you can make and assemble in advance, pop it in the oven, do the washing up and enjoy the company instead of fussing with fiddly food, easy to eat with just a fork with plate on your lap if you run out of table space too.

sham69

Again, similar to Dizzyblondes except:

I use red wine (reduce) and a chicken stock cube.
I also use fresh rosemary and thyme and for the potatoes some grated parmesan on top....
God I'm hungry.

all_smilz

call me crazy but i whack in a teaspoon of Marmite....

Spastafarian

A dash of mushroom ketchup is good too. You can get it in the 24hr Tesco in Finglas for €1.80 and it's the best ingredient EVER!