Shepherd's Pie

I'm not going to lie, I always thought this dish was called Shepard's Pie, but apparently I'm completely wrong.  I got this recipe out of a great cookbook called "The Cook's Companion" and with a few changes I made, what I, and many of my neighbors, thought was a pretty good dish!

The cookbook says that Shepherd's Pie is an old English dish that was originally created to us up leftovers from the traditional Sunday roast.  This is exactly why I made it.  I cooked a roast on Sunday, then we were invited to a BBQ, so I decided to just save the leftovers and fix something great this week.

Here is the recipe that I used...

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh lean ground lamb or beef
2 onions, chopped
8 oz carrots, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
scant 1 cup beef stock
7 oz canned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp chopped fresh sage or oregano or 1/2 tsp dried sage or oregano
2 lb potatoes
2 tbsp margerine
3-4 tbsp skin milk
4 1/2 white mushroom slices (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place meat in a large, heavy bottom pan with no extra fat and cook gently until the meat begins to brown.

(I chopped my roast into bite size pieces, and heated it in a large skillet and it worked just fine!)

My Leftover Roast

2. Add the onions, carrots and garlic and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.  Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, then gradually stir in the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil.

(I actually used the juices from the bottom of my crockpot on Sunday (which in a way is stock) and added a bit of red wine.  It was delicious)

Yum!

3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, seasoning, and herbs, cover and let simmer gently for 25 minutes, giving an occasional stir.

4. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, then drain thoroughly and mash, beating in the margarine, seasoning, and enough milk to give a piping consistency.  Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (or large ziplock back with a corner cut off, like I did).

5. Stir the mushrooms (if using, I didn't) into the meat and taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Turn into a shallow oven proof dish.

6. Pipe the potatoes evenly over the mean.  Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until piping hot and the potatoes are golden brown.

Looks Delicious!

I have to say, I loved this dish!  It was actually pretty easy, and since I was using beef that had already been cooked, I was able to shorten some of the cooking times on the stove.  My husband has yet to try this dish, but there are some leftovers sitting in the refrigerator for when he gets home.  I have no doubt that he will love it as much as I did!