Easy Shepherd's Pie with Roasted Potatoes | Cottage Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional shepherd's pie made of? ›

Ground lamb, mashed potatoes, thickened broth, carrots, corn, peas, and onions are the primary ingredients in Shepherd's Pie. If you use ground beef, it is very similar and is called Cottage Pie. Cheese is often seen on top of these as are people objecting to cheese.

Classic shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies like peas, corn, celery, and carrots. Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? Avoid a soggy pie by simmering the meat mixture for at least 8 minutes. Be sure to cook down the mixture to remove excess moisture.

Thicken the filling

The concentrated tomatoes disperse and lightly thicken the beef stock. The flour is stirred with the meat and then swells and reduces as the liquid simmers. These add body to the dish, so it's not runny when served.

How do you keep shepherds pie from falling apart? The eggs in the mashed potatoes help keep the pie together. You should also make sure to spread the potatoes and press down a bit.

Shepherd's pie is a classic British dish that has been around for centuries. Traditionally, it is made with mashed potatoes, ground beef, carrots, peas, and onions, all topped with a thick gravy. It is a hearty, comforting dish that is enjoyed by people all over the world.

This shepherd's pie recipe uses 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the gravy but if you feel like the meat mixture is too watery, add in another tablespoon and stir to combine. You may also try simmering the mince mixture for longer so that the stock reduces down and thickens.

Residual moisture from the potatoes will drip into the beef below as it cooks, and too much of it will cause the potatoes to eventually sink. Aside from ridding your potatoes of excess moisture before you mash them, it also helps to cool the beef down, BBC Good Food shares.

How do I thicken shepherd's pie without cornstarch? Our favorite way to thicken up the lentil and mushroom filling is with a couple of tablespoons of all-purpose flour. If needed, you could also use a gluten-free flour blend, brown rice flour, arrowroot powder, or cassava flour.

Stir often to crumble, until cooked through and temperature reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.

You can swap the beef broth for chicken broth if you prefer. For an Irish shepherd's pie, swap the beef broth for Guinness. Worcestershire Sauce. Adds wonderful umami flavor.

How can I make my meat pie filling thicker? ›

Flour as Pie Filling Thickener

Teaspoon for teaspoon, you will need to use about twice as much flour as you would cornstarch or tapioca to achieve the same thickening effects. Adding too much flour to your pie filling will turn it cloudy and pasty, with a distinctly floury taste.

Traditional in Britain, a Cottage Pie referred to a beef layer topped with slices of potato (recreating the tiles of a cottage) and a shepherds pie referred to a lamb layer with mash on top.

Remove the baking dish from the oven, sprinkle a few extra herbs on top if you would like, then dish up your servings while the shepherd's pie is still nice and warm. Or store the pie in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

In fact, the Food Standards Agency recommends reheating your food just one time. Imagine reheating your leftover Shepherd's Pie to find out that it's got a massive chunk of frozen mince in the middle? Not only is it going to be disgusting but you're putting yourself at risk of food poisoning.

In its true form Cottage Pie would have a rather bland taste because, in years gone by, many herbs and spices either were not available or were too expensive for the average family. However nowadays it is relatively easy to make a rich tasting Cottage Pie without turning it into a bolognaise type filling.

More recently "shepherd's pie" has generally been used for a potato-topped dish of minced lamb. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, "In keeping with the name, the meat should be mutton or lamb; and it is usually cooked meat left over from a roast".

Many people believe that the peasant housewives invented the pie as an easy way to repackage leftovers from their Sunday roast. The Shepherd Pie is thought to originate from Ireland and the northern parts of England.

Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the Docks of London. Often accompanied with jellied eels, the dish has been popularised as "a co*ckney classic". It typically consists of a minced beef pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce known as liquor.

Shepherd's Pie first came about late in the 1700s and early 1800s. Accordingly, housewives back then were on the frugal side. Much like we do today, they were looking for ways to incorporate those leftovers that husbands and kids would turn up their noses at. The struggle was real back then just like today.