Maybe it is the whole Covid thing or maybe it is just because it is getting colder here but I have been craving comfort food like nobody’s business.  My particular drug of choice has been potatoes.  I love them at the best of times but nowadays?  I have eaten them pretty much every day since lockdown.  And one of the best comfort foods around that has been feeding my potato addiction is Shepherd’s Pie!

Normally when we make Shepherd’s Pie, it is the job of the Fussiest Eater in the World. He can’t cook much all that well but he knows how to do good British stodge to perfection.  And his Shepherd’s Pie is great.

But wait…I am probably making some assumptions here.  So let’s start with…

WHAT ON EARTH IS SHEPHERD’S PIE?

Shepherd’s Pie is a dish made of cooked lamb topped with mashed potato.  The same dish made with beef is called Cottage Pie or Hachis Parmentier if you want to be French and fancy.  Which usually is my default mode (wound up to eleven)  but today I am using lamb so common or garden Shepherd’s Pie it is!

Traditionally, this was made with the leftover lamb from a Sunday roast.  We usually use bought minced lamb for our Shepherd’s Pie but this time round, I wanted to, what they would call on the cooking shows, ELEVATE the dish, so I used some diced lamb.

 A DIGRESSION ON WORKING FROM HOME

I was very pleased to read Yinzerella’s post the other day on the pleasures of lockdown.  I too am enjoying many of the aspects of being at home 24/7.  For instance I have

• More time to spend with Oscar and Holly.
• More time to read, to craft, to study, to do yoga and to blog!
• Started to declutter and organise my life
• Massively reduced my carbon footprint  The last time I filled my car with petrol was in March!  We got solar earlier this year so even though I am using more electricity by being at home, it is being paid for by the power we are generating.
• Invented a push-up challenge and am doing a Buzzfeed core challenge.
• More time to cook. 4-hour slow-cooked lamb on a Tuesday night?  Not a problem. Grapefruit brulee for breakfast?  You betcha!
• Totally embraced my basic B instincts!  These faux fir booties?  I know,  so chav,  but wearing them made my feet warn for the first time in DAYS!!!!  I may never take them off!

Anyway, back to the Shepherd’s Pies.  I slow-cooked that lamb for four hours with red wine and herbs and garlic and tomatoes until it was melt in your mouth tender.

Then I made mashed potato with heaps of butter and milk to top it, and then topped that with a heap of grated cheese!

This was so good.  Tender lamb, cheesy mashed potato…what else can I say except if you are craving a cuddle in the form of food, make this straight away!!!  Of course, you can use this mix to make one large pie but I love small food so individual serves it was – one for each of us and one for lunch the following day!  This reheats beautifully so you can make a few extra to warm up for additional meals.

I cut the recipe in half for these pies because I only had 500g of lamb but the full recipe will make one large or 6 small pies (depending of course on the size of your small pie dishes).

The Recipe

Individual Shepherd’s Pie

Print Recipe

This hearty British dish combines slow-cooked lamb and cheesy mashed potatoes to make the most comforting of comfort foods

• Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

• 60ml olive oil
• 1kg diced lamb
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 40g plain flour
• 250ml  beef stock (more if cooking for a long period of time)
• 200 ml red wine (I used a cabernet merlot)
• 145g tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 kg potatoes peeled and halved
• 50g butter
• 175ml milk
• 180g Cheddar cheese, grated
  Salt & freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add half the lamb and cook, turning as required until browned on all sides.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with another tbsp of oil and the remaining lamb.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until the vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring to ensure that the garlic does not burn.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook, stirring,  for 1 minute.

Gradually add the stock to the pan followed by the wine, stirring to remove any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the lamb, tomato paste, Worchestershire sauce, rosemary and bay leaves.  Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for between one to four hours – you may need to add more stock or wine if you are cooking for longer than an hour.

While the lamb is cooking, boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes or until tender.  Then drain and return to the pan.  Add the butter and milk and mash until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the office to 200C.

Once the lamb is cooked, measure it out into 6 small (1 cup capacity) ovenproof dishes.  Top with the mashed potato and then with the grated cheese.

Cook in the pre-heated oven until the cheese is golden brown and melted – around 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

What is your go-to comfort food?  I hope you get to have some this week! My next post  will also be comfort food but of the cake variety,,,,

Have a good one and stay safe!