shepards pie?

[northerncrafter9]

anyone have a good recipe for shepards pie or meat pie the british dish?

[Dania]

I know that this may sound crazy, but I just make a meatloaf recipe - cook that first, then I add a layer of veggies, mashed potatoe and cheese and bake until cheese is melted. Don't shoot me all my British friends. ;D

[boxofcolours]

Aah, now this is one I can cook!! Its a well known dish here in England and you'd be amazed how many variations there are.

I'll delve through my cook books and send you the recipes I find ;D

[northerncrafter9]

Jane, I would appreciate that. This dish is one of my favorites and I don't have a good british recipe to make it.

Dania, Thank you but I would like to try and find the british version first. There is just something about this dish that is needs to be one of the british homestyle recipes.

[chili]

we always made Shepard's pie out of left over meats.... you grind them up, put the left over gravy and veggies in it then top with the left over mashed potatoes..... it was a dish made with the left overs....... that is the way we have always done it, but i am sure you could make it from scratch as well
good luck

[Dania]

Aug 8, 2010 14:08:27 GMT -5 northerncrafter9 said:

Jane, I would appreciate that. This dish is one of my favorites and I don't have a good british recipe to make it.

Dania, Thank you but I would like to try and find the british version first. There is just something about this dish that is needs to be one of the british homestyle recipes.

I figured you wanted the authentic. I love this dish, but unfortunately I have picky eaters.

[boxofcolours]

Hi there, as promised I've searched through my recipe books and this is probably the best:

Shepherd's Pie
Prep time 20 mins
Cooking time 45 mins
Oven 180C, 350F or Gas 4
Serves 4

You'll need
11/2 tablespoons oil
1 Onion (chopped)
1 green pepper deseeded and chopped
450g/1lb minced beef
100g/4oz sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
300ml/1/2 pint beef stock
salt and pepper
675g/11/2lb potatoes
25g/1oz butter or margarine
2-3 tablespoons milk

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and pepper for a few minutes. Stir in the minced beef and cook until it is evenly browned. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Mix in the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock and seasoning and slowly bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 20 mintues or until tender. Drain, mash and add the butter or margarine and the milk and beat until smooth.

Place the meat mixture in an ovenproof dish and cover with the mashed potato, forking it neatly or piping it. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 mintes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Serve immediately.


Now I personally tweek this quite a bit - I don't add peppers or mushrooms (hubby doesn't like them) so I use chopped frozen vegetables. You can also substitute the beef with lamb. Sometimes I add a small tin of tomatoes and never use the tomato puree.

Basically all you need is a minced meat base in which you can add veggies of your choice - onion is a must otherwise its really bland and then top it with mashed potato. My Mum used to add onion to the potato and I have been known to add grated cheese.

Hope this helps and you have fun making it.

[Dania]

Ok - I wasn't so far off except I add cheese on top. That sounds really good Jane. Thanks for sharing and I think I will try this next week. yum. If my family doesn't like it they can go out.

[boxofcolours]

Ooh well spotted Dania, better just clarify, that the grated cheese is sprinkled on top of the mashed potato once you've covered the meat. But this is an addition that my Mum used to make & I've adopted, its not mentioned in any of the recipes I found today, nor how I was taught to make it whilst at school.

But perhaps cheesy mash (as I had at TGI's last week) with the cheese mixed into the potato would be scrummy - may have to try it out!!

[northerncrafter9]

Thank you so much Jane! I can't wait to try out your recipe.

Dawn