A simple and tasty way to cater for a family or a group of friends with little or no fuss.
Cooking for a large group can be difficult and time consuming. A Shepherds Pie solves a lot of your problems. There are many different ways to prepare it (baked beans instead of carrots in nice) and can be seasoned to taste. It can be served with sides or standalone depending on your time. It can also be pre-prepared and frozen for use later.
Directions in italics are entirely optional and may be disregarded at Chef's discretion.
Ingredients
6-8 servings
- 80ml olive oil
- 1 1/2 large onions
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2lb minced lamb/beef
- 4 carrots, diced
- 250g mushrooms, chopped
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 300ml lamb or beef stock
- 100ml red wine
- several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp thyme, chopped
- sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Mashed potato topping:
- 1.6kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled
- 150g butter
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 60g Parmesan cheese, for the topping
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Seek out instructions for oven to discover how to do that.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic until golden.
- Add the minced meat to the pan and cook until browned stirring constantly to break up the meat and ensure it cooks evenly.
- Realize that the meat has now been sat in the fridge for three weeks because you “will cook it tomorrow, you swear.” Quickly dash to grocery store for more meat.
- Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Remove battery from smoke alarm.
- Call the local pizza parlor and with a smug sense of self-satisfaction tell them exactly where they can stick their pizzas. You are Le Chef now!
- Add the tomato puree and stir it into the meat and vegetables.
- Realize you have no tomato puree. Call the pizza parlor back, grovel, snivel, and plead with them to send you one cheese and tomato pizza. Stir in the topping once it arrives.
- Pour over the stock and red wine.
- Yell at your roommate for drinking all the red wine and send him to store for another bottle.
- Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Then add the thyme and Worcester sauce.
- In light of having no idea what Worcester sauce is, let alone having it in your kitchen, you use that last inch of Pepsi in the bottom of the bottle that no one ever drinks because it always goes flat.
- Gently simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the meat is cooked and the mixture has thickened.
- Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof serving dish.
- Boil the potatoes and cook for about 20 minutes until softened.
- Drain and cover with a lid to steam ‘dry’ and reduce any excess moisture.
- Add the butter and mash thoroughly. Don’t allow the potato to become too wet or they won’t crisp up nicely in the oven.
- Spoon the potato mixture over the meat.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Serve with an antacid tablet the size Jupiter.
The copyright of the article Shepherds Pie in Dinner Recipes is owned by Neil Pedley. Permission to republish Shepherds Pie in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
