Here’s another culinary gift to humankind by the British — Shepherd’s Pie. It’s a meat pie topped with a crust of mashed potato. While other versions of this dish can be elaborate, I choose to use very simple ingredients for this one so that it can be made anytime and any season. I use my ultimate mashed potato recipe for the crust for maximum taste. It’s so easy to make. And this recipe serves 4 to 6 people.
Filling
- Ground beef, 3/4 kilo (you can also use ground sirloin)
- Onion, 1 head, chopped
- 2 carrots
- Celery, 3 talks
- Garlic, 2 cloves
- Pepper
- Soy Sauce, 1/2 cup (you can also use Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup)
- 1 can, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup (Optional)
Crust
1) To make the filling: saute the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in olive oil and 1 tsp butter for 90 seconds. Add the ground beef and soy sauce (or Worcestershire sauce). Cook until the beef starts to brown.
2) In a pyrex dish, spread the beef first. How thick? About 1 to 1.5 inches. For me, 1 inch is great.
3) Spread the ultimate mashed potato. In preparing shepherd’s pie, I would cook and prepare the mashed potato first. It is when the potatoes are boiling that I start cooking the beef filling so that I don’t waste any time in the kitchen.
4) Spread the potatoes on top of the beef. A 1.5-inch layer of potatoes would be perfect. Even before spreading the mashed potato, you have the option of spreading 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup on the beef. It adds contrast t to the saltiness and savory flavor of the beef, as well as the smoked flavor of the ultimate mashed potato, which will be the crust.
5) Bake at 175C for 20 minutes (or until the potatoes just start to brown). Once you are done, you can sprinkle some salt and pepper on the top, and even sprinkle a little grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy! Here’s how it looks like after you slice it.
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