This International Poor Man's Chef brings a traditional English dish from across the pond to these cheapskate shores -- a hearty Shepherd's Pie that will leave you gobsmacked. Also called a Cottage Pie (when using ground beef,) it's a thick top crust of squidgy (mashed) potatoes covering a rich beef sauce loaded with carrots, onion, peas, and ground poultry. You may think I'm off my trolley, but I guarantee you will be begging for seconds!
This one-pot meal is the Mutt's and absolutely fabulous on a cloudy and parky winter's day. Plus it's cheap, just the way this threepenny bit pinching bloke likes it. You could even bring this as a potluck dish to your next do.
I'm not codswalloping when I say it's really so easy peasy to do: just saute some ground meat, onion, carrots, and green peas, then add a cracking rich broth of beef stock and tomato paste flavored with Worcestershire sauce. This luscious filling is thick like a chicken pot pie. You finish it with a topping of your favorite mashed potato recipe, bake for half an hour, and Bob's your uncle!
A traditional Shepherd's Pie is made with leftover meat, usually lamb. You can my recipe low-fat using ground turkey or chicken -- but don't worry it's still scrummy.
I get beef shank because it is the cheapest cut of meat I could find. These days even ground beef is more expensive! It's easy enough to use lamb if you like.
You can't get cheaper than onions, carrots and potatoes. Frozen packages of carrots, corn, and green peas are an easy way to go.
There's more to British food than popular Fish and Chips (of course I have my own recipe version here) -- so, if you fancy, do give my latest entree a butcher's hook. You will happily devour The 99 Cent Chef's savory Shepherd's Pie, it's the bees' knees.
Cheers!
Click here to translate all the italicized British slang that I used.
Shepherd's - Video
Play it here, video runs 4 minutes, 33 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (about 4 - 6 servings)
1 pound Beef Steak, cubed - Okay to use ground beef for a faster cooking version. For a traditional Shepherd's Pie use lamb.
4-6 medium-size Potatoes - about 3 pounds. At least 2 cups total when mashed. I used russet, but okay to use any type you like, even sweet potato.
1 cup Carrots - roughly chopped
1 cup frozen Peas - thawed. Canned peas are too mushy, but go ahead and use a drained can if that's all you've got. Okay to use fresh peas or even peas in their pods.
1 Onion - chopped.
2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste - If you use tomato sauce, about 1/2 cup.
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.
2 cups Water - or favorite stock.
1 cup Red Wine - optional. Okay to use white wine.
1 tablespoon of Oil - to saute veggies and meat.
3 tablespoons of Flour - to thicken the sauce.
1/2 cup of Milk - for mashed potatoes. Add more milk or cream to suit your taste and mashed potato texture. Okay to use half and half or whipping cream.
2 tablespoons of Butter - optional.
Salt and Pepper to taste. You can leave out the salt if you use a salty bouillon cube.
Water to cover and boil potatoes.
Directions
Start potatoes boiling. Should take about 1 hour, depending on how large they are. Done when a fork pierces the potato easily.
Peel boiled potatoes when cool enough to handle. Add milk or cream with butter.
Mash potatoes to desired creaminess. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until final assembly for baking.
You should get about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of mashed potatoes. If you have a favorite mashed potato recipe then use that.
Slice beef into bite sizes. Add to pot at medium/high heat. For fatty beef, no oil is needed. Add oil for lean beef. For ground beef no oil is needed, as it has enough fat.
Add flour and mix well. Saute for 5 minutes to take out the raw flour flavor.
Next, add the chopped onion. Stir and saute until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
Now it's time to make the sauce. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, water, or stock to sauting veggies and meat.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
If you are cooking with ground meat, it will be quicker to cook, about 45 minutes.
When meat is tender add chopped carrots and cook another 20 minutes to tenderize to your taste.
Finally, add the fresh or fresh frozen peas. They only need about 10 minutes of cooking.
Now time to assemble it all. In a deep baking dish add the meat and veggie filling - don't fill it up all the way, leave about an inch clearance. Now spoon on the mashed potatoes to cover the top of the meat and veggie filling. You can carefully smooth out the mashed potatoes to cover the top.
Place the uncovered dish of Shepherd's Pie in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. You may want to place a large cookie sheet pan underneath the dish in case some of the beef stew liquid bubbles out.
Remove from oven and allow to cool down for a few minutes, this will also allow the sauce to thicken.
Hindsight
For a more diet-friendly and healthier topping (I know spuds are too carb-heavy for some) try boiled or microwaved sweet potatoes. You could use steamed and mashed cauliflower, squash (butternut or acorn,) carrots, pumpkin, turnips, or any favorite veggie that you can mash.
You could also substitute green peas with shelled edamame (soybeans) or green beans. Sometimes, I'll add a few sauteed sliced mushrooms.
Instead of peas and carrots, you can just use a bag of your favorite frozen veggie blend. For frozen veggies allow to defrost in the heating of the sauce (after the meat is done.)
If you like a saucy filling, then add more stock - you may need a larger (or an extra) baking dish or pot.
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