Britain · Main · Easy
Shepherd's Pie
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Shepherd's Pie, in 5 ideas
- Dry the potatoes after boiling. A minute of steam drying keeps the mash fluffy instead of gluey. Wet potatoes make sad mash.
- Lamb makes it shepherd's pie. Made with beef, it is technically cottage pie. Both are excellent, just call it by its right name.
- Season the mash like you mean it. Bland potatoes on top ruin the whole dish. Taste and add more salt than feels reasonable.
- Make it ahead. Assemble completely, refrigerate, then bake 10 minutes longer from cold. It reheats beautifully.
- A splash of red wine helps. Add it with the stock and let it reduce. It deepens the gravy without tasting winey.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup warm milk
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef or lamb stock
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar (optional)
How to make it
Directions
- Boil the potatoes in salted water 15 to 20 minutes until completely tender. Drain well and let them steam dry 2 minutes.
- Mash with the butter and warm milk until smooth. Season boldly with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Brown the lamb in a large oven-safe skillet over medium high heat, breaking it up, about 8 minutes. Drain off excess fat.
- Add the onion and carrots. Cook 6 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and flour, cook 1 minute.
- Pour in the stock and Worcestershire. Simmer 10 minutes until thickened into a gravy. Stir in the peas.
- Spoon the mash over the lamb in big dollops, then spread to seal edge to edge. Roughen the surface with a fork so the ridges catch and brown.
- Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden and the edges bubble. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Fork ridges are functional, not decorative. The raised peaks brown and crisp while the valleys stay creamy. Smooth mash gives you a flat pale top.