Shepherd's Pie

Way back in January, I posted a recipe for Cottage Pie. I started my post with this quote:

"Cottage pie refers to an English meat pie made with beef mince and with a crust made from mashed potato. A variation on this dish using Lamb mince is known as Shepherd's pie." - Wikipedia

Several books include shepherd's pie in their story...A Girl Named Rose, Dearest Mary Jane, The Most Marvelous Summer, to name a few. Lamb is not really all that common an ingredient in Northwest cuisine...but as I was passing the meat section in the grocery store this week, I spied some packages of ground lamb. So here goes. I based my recipe on one in the cookbook I bought on Bettysday: English Traditional Recipes by Annette Yates.

Shepherd's Pie

preheat oven to 375'

Topping:

2 1/4 lbs. peeled and diced potatoes

4 Tbsp. milk

2 Tbsp. butter

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft (approx. 20 minutes). Drain, then mash with the milk and butter. Season to taste.

While the potatoes are boiling you can work on the filling.

1 lb. ground lamb

1 Tbsp. oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2/3 cup lamb or beef stock (I used beef flavored Better Than Bouillon)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley (I keep forgetting to put it on my shopping list, so it was dried parsley for mine)

salt and pepper

grated cheese (optional)

Brown lamb, then drain and set aside (I seasoned the lamb with garlic salt, rosemary and thyme). Put oil in frying pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook over medium heat until soft (5-10 minutes). Stir in the cooked meat, stock and parsley.

Spread filling in an ovenproof dish(es), spoon on the mashed potatoes. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are crisped and browned. Sprinkle grated cheese on (if you decided to use it).

Verdict: I'm not a huge fan of lamb...in my experience it's been hit or miss. This was fine - I liked being able to drain the fat off (which is part of my problem with lamb - I don't care for how fatty it often is). Dr. van der Stevejinck liked it, so did my nineteen year old son.