Shepherd’s Pie

Easter 2020 is over, and despite being in the era of Covid 19, we managed to celebrate Easter Day with the usual treats – hot cross buns, chocolate eggs and roast lamb for lunch.

So lamb for lunch means leftover lamb, and leftover lamb means shepherd’s pie, which is exactly what I made after Easter last week. I love shepherd’s pie, particularly if it’s made with leftover roast lamb, although I know it can be quite good too, made with lamb mince.

A few notes. I made my basic mixture in a large cast iron casserole pan on the stove top, which could then be transferred straight to the oven. If you don’t have one of these, you will need to use a frying pan for the stove top and then transfer the mixture to a large baking dish to go in the oven.

If you are using cold roast lamb, you will need to cut it up finely. I blitzed mine in the food processor which was a lot less labour intensive!

I mention in the Ingredients how to use leftover gravy for the stock. Using gravy gives a lovely flavour to the shepherd’s pie, plus it’s a great “no waste” thing to do.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 carrots, finely chopped (depending on size)

1 stick celery

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

A quantity of cold roast lamb, leg or shoulder, finely chopped, about 500g, or use the same quantity fresh minced lamb

2 tablespoons tomato paste

250ml stock, made from the remains of the gravy from the roast lamb, topped up with water, or use a liquid chicken or vegetable stock if using fresh mince*

125ml red wine

50ml Worcestershire sauce

1 fresh bay leaf

A few sprigs fresh rosemary

For the mashed potato topping:

8 medium desiree potatoes, peeled

250 ml full fat milk or enough milk to make a creamy mash

100gm softened butter

*The stock can be a mixture of liquids, the importance thing is to add something flavourful to the lamb. If you have leftover gravy, use that, topped up with water. I would suggest adding water anyway, even if you have a lot of gravy, to thin the gravy  a little. If you haven’t any gravy or are using lamb mince, ordinary stock is just fine.

Method

Put a large casserole pan or a frying pan on a medium heat on the stove top. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are well softened. Add the chopped roast lamb or lamb mince and cook, stirring, to make sure all the meat is browned. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Add the tomato paste to the casserole and mix. Add the stock mixture, wine and Worcestershire sauce, pop in the bay leaf and rosemary and stir well. Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer until the mixture is reduced, this could be between 15-25 minutes. Be careful not to overdo it or the mixture could catch and you’ll end up with burnt bits on the bottom of the pan! Adjust seasoning if necessary.

To make the mashed potatoes, put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to the boil over medium heat and cook until soft. Drain the potatoes well and put into a large bowl. Add the milk and butter and mash with a fork until smooth. Or, as I did, you can use a stick blender to get really smooth mash. Season with sea salt as necessary.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

If you are using a casserole pan, you are ready to put this straight into the oven. If you used a frying pan for your lamb mixture, you will need to transfer this to a large baking dish. Spoon the mashed potato over the lamb mixture and with a fork, create a few “peaks” on top of the potato. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the peaks of the mashed potato are just turning golden brown and the mixture is bubbling nicely!

Serve with a green salad and more Worcestershire sauce on the side. I admit to liking a good dash of tomato ketchup on my shepherd’s pie. Possibly sacrilege, but it works for me!