Classic SHEPHERD’S Pie

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting my dear friend Natalie. She works at my youngest son’s (with autism) school back east. We wanted to make a dish reflective of her English nationality. She moved to the US 13 years ago. And what was better than the classic Sheperd’s Pie! I absolutely loved it! Watch the Youtube video so you can see just how simple it is to make and its origins. Quite interesting!

Ingredients:

For the potatoes
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut up in chunks
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons salted butter
1 egg yolk, beaten

For the meat filling
2 lbs ground lamb
3 tbs canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbs all-purpose flour 3 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

Parmesan for sprinkling over potatoes prior to baking.
Salt and pepper to taste for serving.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º degrees.

Place potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until tender.

Drain the potatoes and place in a dish.

Mash, add heavy cream, mix well, butter, mix well, egg yolk, mix well.

Cover and set aside until meat filling is ready.

In a large oven-safe pan brown ground lamb, drain.

Remove Lamb from pan and into a bowl. Set aside.

Add the canola oil to the pan and heat over medium high until it heats up.

Add the onion, and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the browned beef back into the pan, add salt and pepper.

Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes or so.

Add flour and mix well. Cook for another minute.

Stir in the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, and thyme into the lamb mixture. Mix well, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Watch the Youtube video for an idea of the consistency you are looking for.

Add the corn and peas and mix well.

There are two ways you can then bake this:
1) In the pan you just cooked the lamb, lightly flatten the lamb mixture. Smooth the mash potatoes over top and make sure you cover all the way to the edges. Use a rubber spatula if possible. This prevents bubbling from happening. Prick lightly with a fork and then lightly scrape the top layer. This will give the potatoes some nice golden color after baking. Last but not least, sprinkle with parmesan and bake.

2) Place lamb mixture in a 11×7-inch baking dish. Then follow the directions for way #1.

Recipe adapted from https://shewearsmanyhats.com/shepherds-pie-recipe/