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For some reason, there seem to be a bunch of recipes out there for Shepherd's pie that use beef. Obviously, a real shepherd's pie must use lamb or, at a push, mutton! Recipes involving beef, while delicious, are properly called “Cottage Pie”.
Serves 4.
h1. Ingredients
* 650g minced lamb (fresh or forzen — doesn't matter!)
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 handful of peas
* 1 carrot, chopped
* mixed herbs (see below)
* 2 tablespoons of Vegemite/Marmite or 1 tablespoon of Worchestershire Sauce
* 2 tablespoons of tomato pureé (optional)
* 2—3 servings mashed potato, made a little runnier than normal with milk and butter
* gravy powder or cornflour
* 1 stick of celery, chopped (optional)
* 100g grated cheddar (optional)
Which Herbs?
I tend to use either a lot rosemary, balenced out with a little parsley, sage and thyme; or plenty of mint with a bit of parsley. I've heard good things about lavender though!
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Fry the onion, celery and carrot until the onion becomes transparent. Add lamb and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is brown. Add peas, herbs and the Vegemite/Marmite or Worchestershire sauce. Simmer for 5—10 minutes.
Thicken the mixture with gravy powder or cornflour before transferring to a casserole dish. Press the mixture down, so that it has a nice, firm, smooth surface.
Spread the mashed potato over the top and then sprinkle on cheddar and more herbs. Bake in the oven for &189;—1 hour.
Serve by itself, or with chips.
