Shepard’s Pie Recipe Request

[Zappa]

I hope someone can post me a Shepard’s Pie recipe but… without the Campbell Mushroom Soup addition.

I think this would be a good way of cleaning out left overs in the ice box.

Thanks,
Ms. Zappa

[N Tocus]

I make shepherd's pie by putting meatloaf mixture in a baking dish and covering it thickly with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350* for an hour until the meat is done and the top of the potatoes is golden. (For the meatloaf I put a small onion, half a large green pepper, an egg, two glups of ketchup, and 1 tsp salt in the Cuisinart to liquify it all. Mix this with about a pound and a half of good lean ground beef and just enough commercial bread crumbs to make the mixture barely malleable---you don't want it very stiff or it will be dry.)

However, my Edwardian English stepfather used to speak of shepherd's pie made from leftover roast mutton.Yuck. Nowadays shepherd's pie is common pub food in England and in my experience is made of ordinary ground beef. I guess you have room here for creativity.

[JOANNAPVB]

Very simple and very good - 1 1/2 lbs ground chuck, 1 minced onion, salt and pepper, saute meat with onion till brown, add 16 oz can drained green beans and 10 oz can tomato soup - heat through and put in large casserole dish - "frost" with mashed potatoes - Bake in 350 oven 45 min - sprinkle with cheese and stick under broiler 3 min

[Pat Goldberg]

I made one the other night. I had made shish kebab with the grandkids and had some leftover raw lamb. I ground it in the food processor,then browned it with chopped onions.I added a beef bouillon cube, some water, pepper, and a tiny bit of ketchup and let it stew for a while until the liquid was reduced, but had not disappeared.I put it in a baking dish, covered it with some frozen corn, covered the whole thing with mashed potatoes, and finally sprinkled some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Popped it in the oven and baked until it was golden. It was terrific.

I have treated leftover pot roast similarly, using some of the gravy for the moistening agent.

Pat G.

[Daisy's]

I often make shepherd's pie out of leftovers in an individual sized bowl that is oven and freezer safe. Any leftover meat and potatoes meal with gravy can become a shepherd's pie to put in the freezer for an easy meal in the future. If the gravy is thin it will be hard to spread the potatoes, you can freeze the bottom layers and later add the potatoes.

Shepherd's Pie for 3-4

1 pound ground beef browned with worcestershire and pepper, drain on a coffee filter or paper towels, mix with 2 cups gravy and put in bowls sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with a thin layer of corn and top with mashed potato (microwave briefly if potatoes are cold to make it easier to spread) sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until gravy is bubbling through on sides.

[lucia]

Shepherd's Pie, as the name suggests, is made with lamb or mutton. The beef version is called Cottage Pie.

Also, I'm sure the addition of corn tastes fine, but a traditional English recipe doesn't have corn--it wasn't even considered people food until recently.

The cottage pie and shepherd's pie I know, however, always contains meat (fresh ground or chopped), carrots, onion, Worcestershire sauce, gravy or bouillon, salt and pepper. If the meat is lean, a knob of butter is good. The mixture should be like a thickish sloppy joe, not like a meatloaf (no eggs or breadcrumbs), and the mashed on top should be thick and fully whipped and combed with a fork into peaks. Bake until thoroughly hot, then brown the top under the broiler. Also, it is always served with green peas.

I'm not averse to innovations, but this traditional pie is fine the way it is.

Serve with a pint or a big mug of tea.

[Coyote]

Here, here.

[Pat Goldberg]

Lucia,

Shepherd's pie has been part of US cuisine for hundreds of years. During that time, it has diverged from its English roots, much in the way that meatballs in tomato sauce has diverged from its Italion ones.

In the US, it is common practice to make pie with ground or chopped beef and call it shepherd's pie. A base of lamb is more the exception than the rule. And the addition of a layer of corn has also become common.

I think Lidia Bastianich, who often talks of this divergence, is right in saying that these changes, as a cuisine moves to another country, are inevitible and not a bad thing--although one also has to applaud those who hold onto traditional methods and ingredients.

Pat G.

[Christine]

Speaking about regional evolution of food, in Quebec we call Shepard's Pie "Pate Chinois"...translates to Chinese Pate. Never quite figured out why. No one thinks of it as chinese food...and we serve it with gravy sauce on top.

[lucia]

Pat-

I agree completely. I don't mean to disparage the American version. Divergence from an original is often a good thing. But people often seek out the original, too, in order to understand what that is.

The "correct" name is just as important as the distinction between high tea and afternoon tea (which has been discussed ad infinitum), i.e., meaningful if you're in England, but in America, chacon a son gout. The pie you make by any name would taste the same.

[bgorton]

Interesting about the distinction between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie.

I am sure the one my mom used to make was made from cold roast lamb. Chop it up, bang in some minced onion, (was it raw or sauteed?), and gravy. Splash of Worcesteshire Sauce or a spoonful of chutney and you are there after you have spread the mashed spud on top. Bake it until the potato is browned.

Yum