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April 1, 2012

Shepherds Pie

This is a dish I grew up on and loved it everytime my mom made it. It’s a British classic and all it is, is a ground meat and vegetable mix in a herb seasoned tomato based sauce and topped with creamy mashed potatoes. The best part of the dish is that it’s then baked till the mashed potatoes form a golden crust. Dig into that and you reach the creamy mash followed by the moist meat and veggies. It’s delicious!

Given that mashed potatoes are an American favorite, I’m surprised that shepherds pie isn’t commonly made here. Anyway, I intend on making it a family favorite in my home too, just as my mother did. And why not? it’s a one dish meal in itself, it’s simple, hearty, comforting  and near impossible to mess up. I’m sure your family would love it too.

Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
3/4 cup of frozen peas
1 tsp dried herb Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Tomato sauce
A handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
3-4 medium potatoes, skinned & boiled.
3 tbsp butter
2/3 cup of cream
Salt Pepper to taste.
1 egg (for egg wash)

Method:
– Heat some olive oil in a deep pan.
– Toss in the finely diced onion and sautee till it turns soft and translucent.
– Add the finely chopped garlic and sautee it with the onions for a couple minutes.
– Then add the diced carrots, celery and frozen green peas to the pan and mix together.
– Add the ground beef, spread it well and let it brown on medium-high heat along with all the veggies.
– Once the meat is browned season the meat well with salt, pepper, the italian seasoning herbs and worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
– Then pour in a cup of tomato sauce, mix well and bring to a boil. Then put a lid on, lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes or so while you prepare the mashed potatoes. Just before you turn off the heat, stir in some freshly chopped parsley.
– Peel, cut and boil the potatoes in well salted water. Then drain them and toss them in a mixing bowl.
– Add the butter,cream and garlic powder (optional) to them while still hot and mash them with a potato masher. Season it with salt and pepper according to your taste.
– To assemble the dish, spoon the ground beef mix in the bottom of a casserole dish, or small oven proof individual serving dishes.
– You can then spoon or pipe (to make it a little fancier) the mashed potatoes over the top. If you spoon it, flatten it a little over the top and with a fork make some lines on top. the ridges are what will brown and form a nice crust.
– Lightly brush a little egg wash (an egg beaten with a teaspoon of water) on the ridges of the mashed potatoes. Pop it into the oven at 400F for around 10-15 minutes. Then stick them under the broiler for another few minutes (4-5) until the mashed potato topping froms a nice golden brown crust.
– Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley.

Shepherd’s Pie

 

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Filed Under: Meat, Recipes Tagged With: casserole dishes, mashed potato pie, meat pie, meat recipes, one dish meals, picture recipes, shepherds pie, step by step picture recipes, step by step recipes

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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    April 1, 2012 at 10:24 pm

    I’ve never actually had Shepherds Pie, but this recipe is making me want to try it!

    Reply
  2. Simply Tia says

    April 2, 2012 at 2:12 am

    I am ALL over these individual shepherd’s pie! They truly look full of flavor and very yummy!!! I love it.

    Reply
  3. Thyme (Sarah) says

    April 2, 2012 at 4:07 am

    My family has been asking for Shepherd’s Pie so I am thrilled to see this on FG. It looks delicious!

    Reply
  4. Josh says

    April 3, 2012 at 10:58 am

    This is cottage pie, shepherds pie uses lamb. This does look good though.

    Reply
    • Pat Hendricks says

      August 9, 2016 at 6:27 am

      Shepherd looks after sheep….lambs etc., therefore Shepherds Pie is made with ground lamb. However this recipe is virtually the same except it would be call Cottage Pie using ground beef! Whichever recipe you choose is cheap and tasty!

      Reply
  5. maggie says

    April 6, 2013 at 10:36 am

    I’m Scottish and this pie is actually a Cottage Pie not Shepherds pie. In Britain Shephards pie is made with lamb not ground beef

    Reply
  6. MaryAnne says

    October 18, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    It’s a Cottage Pie here in Australia, too. We have this funny thing about shepherds herding sheep, not cows. I grew up on it, and must say that this version looks delicious.

    Reply
  7. Anne says

    October 23, 2014 at 4:37 am

    You’ll get a better result by cooking the meat mixture (should be lamb) in a very low oven, about 140 degrees C for an hour and a half before topping with the mash.

    Reply
  8. Mary Meister says

    January 2, 2015 at 5:04 am

    this is actually Cottage Pie – Shepherd’s Pie uses lamb and Cottage Pie uses beef – only difference

    Reply
  9. vdiannep says

    December 18, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    How many mini servings do you think this makes?

    Reply
    • Noreen says

      December 22, 2015 at 6:06 am

      I would say about 6 mini servings.

      Reply
  10. teresa mae alexander says

    April 2, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    i want to make this in a full casserole what size do i use

    Reply
  11. Angelina says

    May 10, 2016 at 7:04 am

    I’ve heard of Shepherds Pie, but I never had it. I too, thought it was made with lamb, but using lean beef is perfectly ok with me. Instead of making several individual pies, I’d like to make one large one….in a deep 9″ pie dish, so, how long should I bake it?

    Reply
  12. Sam says

    October 12, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    I really would like to do this for a lunch for 40 people and wondering if I can make the filling the day before, fill the individual tins, put in fridge and the next day make the mash and just take them from fridge to oven for roughly 30 mins then broiler 4-5?

    Reply
    • Noreen says

      October 14, 2018 at 10:44 am

      Absolutely! You can make the whole thing ahead of time, the mashed potatoes too. Assemble the pies in the individual dishes…. just don’t put the egg wash on the top. Then when you are ready to serve the next day…brush on the egg and pop in the oven for 30-40 mins to heat all the way through and broiler for the browned crispy bits on top! This is a GREAT make ahead dish.

      Reply
  13. Jim McCormick says

    November 11, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Hi there….. Can you tell me the dimensions or approx. size of the individual serving dishes? To me, they look to be about the size of a cupcake. My wife says I’m crazy (we say that to one another frequently). I’ve seen them in stores, but when I do this, I wan’t to make sure my proportions are correct. Thanks

    Reply
  14. Patty says

    February 4, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    It does look delicious with beef. But , my husband does not eat beef. He will eat ground Turkey. So I made it with ground Turkey. It was delicious. Sometimes with ground poultry especi ground chicken , they need a little extra flavoring but not the Turkey .
    Give it a try. Less fat.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Cooking Basics 101 | Picture the Recipe says:
    July 21, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    […] started with a Shepherd’s Pie.  This recipe ended up being much easier than I thought.  When I first saw it looked a little […]

    Reply
  2. Shepherd’s Pie with Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes « Feast With Me says:
    November 28, 2012 at 11:34 am

    […] Adapted from Picture the Recipe […]

    Reply
  3. Shepherd's Pie Recipe Round-up - MotivaNova - MotivaNova says:
    December 3, 2013 at 6:17 am

    […] Full Recipe at picturetherecipe.com  […]

    Reply

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"You eat with your eyes first" ...Hi! I'm Noreen. A huge foodie. I love to cook, eat, read cookbooks, watch cooking shows and talk a whole lot about food. Food to me is an endless topic. I could learn, eat and talk about food every day of my ...

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