Shepherds pie is lamb (its cousin with beef is the cottage pie two recipes over), and the lamb wants twenty patient minutes with wine, worcestershire and rosemary before any potato arrives. The mash lid gets forked into furrows because ridges brown and smooth does not, and the cheddar goes in the mash rather than just on it.
Everything you need
- 750 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp (16 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup red wine or extra stock
- 1½ cups beef or lamb stock
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary or thyme, chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1.2 kg floury potatoes, peeled and chunked
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (80 g) milk, warm
- 1 cup (113 g) mature cheddar, grated
Weigh, don't scoop. Measuring flour by cups can overpack it and dry out your bake. Tap any ingredient to open its converter.
Method
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Brown the lamb hard in a wide pan, in two batches, and set aside. Pale grey lamb makes pale grey pie.
For this step
- 750 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 1½ cups beef or lamb stock
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Soften the onion and carrot in the lamb fat for 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute, then stir in the flour.
For this step
- 750 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp (16 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups beef or lamb stock
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Return the lamb with the wine, stock, worcestershire and herbs. Simmer 20 minutes until thick and gravied, stir in the peas, season, and tip into a baking dish.
For this step
- 750 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
- ½ cup red wine or extra stock
- 1½ cups beef or lamb stock
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen peas
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Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water 15 to 18 minutes until completely tender. Drain and steam-dry 2 minutes in the colander.
For this step
- 1.2 kg floury potatoes
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Mash with the butter and warm milk, then beat in two thirds of the cheddar. Season properly: bland mash sinks the whole dish.
For this step
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (80 g) milk
- 1 cup (113 g) mature cheddar
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Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Spoon the mash over the filling from the edges inward, sealing to the dish rim. Furrow the top with a fork, scatter the last cheddar, and bake 25 to 30 minutes until bronzed and bubbling at the edges. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
For this step
- 1 cup (113 g) mature cheddar
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Worth knowing
- Seal the mash to the dish edges like pastry. Any gap becomes a lava vent that empties gravy over your oven floor.
- The filling should be thick before the mash goes on. Sloppy filling swallows the lid, and no amount of oven time fixes it from there.
Make it your own
- Beef mince makes it cottage pie. Half lamb half beef is nobody's tradition and entirely delicious.
- A parsnip or celeriac boiled in with the potatoes sweetens the mash.
Storing & freezing
Fridge for 3 days, reheating portions until piping. It freezes assembled and unbaked for 3 months: thaw overnight and bake 40 minutes, making it the best posture of this dish.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between shepherds pie and cottage pie?
The meat. Shepherds pie is lamb, cottage pie is beef. The construction is otherwise identical, and the names are swapped constantly with no real consequence.
Why is my shepherds pie watery?
The filling simmered too briefly or missed the flour. Twenty minutes of reduction plus the flour thickening gives a gravy that holds its shape under the mash.
Cooking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
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A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.
Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.