Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

SHEPHERD'S PIE

The hardest thing about gathering the ingredients for this is having enough leftover lamb after the Sunday joint. But you can always buy a bit extra diced lamb, neck fillet or flank and mince it yourself to bump it up.

Feeds 4-5 people  Oven temperature: 180ºC (160ºC fan)/gas 4

INGREDIENTS

Topping:

• 800g potatoes
• 50g butter
• Splash of milk

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stick celery, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 125g mushrooms, chopped
• 500g cooked lamb minced or 600g raw lamb, minced (or frozen Quorn)
• 3 tsp English mustard powder
• 3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
• A splash of Worcester Sauce  – or Dorsetshire Sauce for a vegetarian version
• 200ml well-flavoured stock (vegetable, lamb or beef stock)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Dry or fresh thyme
   

METHOD

Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water for about 25 minutes until they are soft.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and finely chopped carrots for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.

If you are using raw lamb, add this to the pan and cook, stirring, until the meat is browned. Drain off any excess fat from the lamb.

Meanwhile, make up the stock in a jug and add the ketchup, mustard powder and and Worcester/Dorsetshire sauce to the stock.

Pour the stock mixture into the frying pan, and add thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

If you are using cooked lamb or Quorn mince, add to the pan at this point and let the mixture bubble up gently
for 7 minutes or so. If it is looking dry, add a bit more stock.

Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish.

Drain the potatoes and mash well with the butter, adding a splash of milk at the end to make the mash more creamy and smooth.

Spoon the mash over the lamb mixture in the dish until completely covered, and drag the back of a fork across the potato to make furrows. Dot with a little butter and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are just starting to brown.

Allow to cool a little before serving with a generous portion of peas.

Variation: Make a three root mash by adding swede and parsnips to the potatoes.