shepherd’s pie

Today I am bringing you another much loved family favourite of ours, shepherd’s pie. To me, this shepherd’s pie recipe is everything your soul craves in a winter dish, it’s hearty, warm, comforting and delicious and fills the house with the most gorgeous pie filled aromas that evoke a sense of snuggly comfort that only a baking pie can do. When the days are cold and chilly and respite is in need, this pie is certainly a go to recipe and one that will bring much reassuring happiness and cozy comfort to your home and family.

With this version of shepherd’s pie I added a whole lot of vege for the sake of Miss G and have jam packed the mince with a huge helping of peas, carrot, onion, beans and brussel sprouts. I love this shepherd’s pie recipe, not only is it hearty and delicious, this recipe also guarantees leftovers which suit me just fine. For me, there is nothing more comforting than knowing I have a freezer stocked full of delicious, ready to go dinners.

This recipe begins, like a lot of great recipes do, with an onion being chopped.

I then foraged around in the refrigerator and retrieved a whole load of vegetables; carrots, brussel sprouts, beans, onion and garlic and chopped them all up into even(ish) sized pieced.

I then placed the onion, along with a little olive oil in a fry pan heated to medium high heat and sweated until just translucent before adding the mince. I allowed the mince to brown nicely on one side before flipping and breaking up into smaller pieces. The brown caramelized edges create are delicious and give a gorgeous flavour to the pie.

When the mince was almost cooked through, lovely and caramelized I added my chopped vege and sautéd for five minutes or so, just until the vegetables had started to cook.

I then added my tomato paste and a dash of red wine, stirred through until all combined and cooked for a couple of minutes.

To the pan I then added an entire jar of passata as well as a good glass of water, a big swig of worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle of sugar and a vegetable stock cube.

I then simmered the lovely mince mixture for ten minutes before adding a cup and a half of frozen peas. After a couple more minutes of simmering, I turned off the fry pan and ferried the meaty mix into an oven proof dish, ready to be adorned with the lusciously creamy potato mash.

I then started on the potato mash that would adorn the top of the pie by peeling four large potatoes. I cut the potatoes into large chunks, placed in a medium saucepan filled with water and boiled for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes were tender and cooked.

Using a masher, I pummeled the potatoes until they were light and fluffy and mixed through a little melted butter and warm milk.

This created a super fluffy potato mash that I added a cup of grated cheese too, today I chose a mixture of parmesan and cheddar.

Once the potato rested happily a top the mince, I dragged a fork through the potato creating lovely ridges that would brown and crisp beautifully in a hot oven. I couldn’t help but add to the golden gorgeousness by grating over a little extra cheddar.

The pie went into a hot oven and spent a half hour bubbling away as the potato mash turned lovely and golden, with beautiful crispy edges.

I served the pie warm, alongside a simple salad of fresh leaves drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Grace absolutely loved the pie, she happily gobbled up the peas, carrot, beans and even the brussel sprouts whilst shoving the mince and potato into her teeny tiny mouth. Although the whole eating experience was little, shall we say, messy, it was totally worth it! Knowing that Grace had consumed all those lovely veges had me feeling like one very proud mama.

Shepherd’s Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, finely chopped

Olive oil, to fry in

800 grams mince (beef or lamb)

3 carrots, finely chopped

1 ½ cups brussel sprouts, halved

1 ½ cups beans, finely chopped

1/3 cup red wine

3 tablespoons tomato paste

700ml passata

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 vegetable stock cube

1 ½ cups peas

4 potatoes, peeled and chopped

50 grams butter

1/3 cup milk

1 cup grated cheese ( I used a mix of parmesan and cheddar)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat a fry pan to medium-high heat, add a dash of olive oil and onion and fry until the onion is translucent and almost cooked. Add the mince, allow the mince to cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned and caramelized then flip and cook other side for another 3-4 minutes, breaking up mince as it cooks.

Add carrots, brussel sprouts and beans and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add red wine and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomato paste and mix until combined, cook for a minute then add the passata, 1 cup of water, Worcestershire sauce, stock cube and peas and allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. If the mince is looking too dry, simply add a little more water.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and cooked. In a microwave safe container, place the milk and butter and cook in the microwave in 30 second intervals until the butter is melted and the milk is warm. Drain the potatoes, return to pan along with the melted butter and hot milk and mash until light and fluffy. Add cheese and mix to combine.

Place mince mixture in an oven proof dish, spread the potato mash over the top of the mince and drag a fork through the potato to create ridges. Grate a little extra cheese over the potato if you wish and place into the oven for 30 minutes or until the potato is golden and crispy.