Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Shepherd's Pie Recipe - a classic Shepherd's pie with ground beef made in two Pyrex dishes to feed the whole family.

This Shepherd's pie is made with fried ground beef, mashed potatoes and baked to this perfect cottage pie.

The original Shepherd's pie is made with lamb, but my family and I are more of beef enthusiasts than lamb fanciers so we make our cottage pie with ground beef ( minced beef)

A beef dish is called a cottage pie and a lamb dish is called a shepherd's pie but now these terms are interchangeable. But whether you call it shepherd's pie recipe or cottage pie recipe, as long as it's made in a casserole dish with cooked vegetables and meat and topped with mashed potatoes and baked to perfection, then it's a cottage pie or shepherds pie.

My Shepherd's pie is a bit different from the other shepherd's pies. My version of this pie does not contain any flour ( I have tasted Shepherd's pies made with flour and they are just as delicious) my not adding flour to this pie is just a personal choice and I wanted to do it differently. Anyway my mashed potatoes have plenty of milk, I didn't want to take a bit in dry potatoes so I made sure they were as moisturized as possible. Your potatoes don't necessary need to have milk but having creamier and richer potatoes is always a great idea. So now I can say that this is a cottage pie but I would rather call it a shepherd's pie because people are more familiar with the term shepherd's pie than cottage pie.

 

You might be thinking we are a big family and that's why I made two pies in two different Casserole dishes but no, we are just a family of four. I made my cottage pie in two casserole dishes because we have visitors and I didn't want any of us to be left craving for more, that's why I had to make enough for all of us.

I received a call two weeks ago from my aunt telling me she and her family were coming to visit ( bless her for always calling weeks before because this gives me time to prepare adequately).
Fast forward to this day. My aunt, uncle and their son(my cousin) came over and of course this isn't the first time they are visiting us. On several occasions I have baked them meat pie as appetizers then cooked some other meals like rice and smoked chicken,or southern fried chicken. There are some time I had prepared brownies and of course, they appreciate my cooking. So today I wanted to do things differently, I thought of recipes I haven't made for them yet and a cottage pie came to my mind, I was a bit hesitant at first but here we are, they loved every bit of this pie, I'll be making them some of these next time they visit( as per their request)

INGREDIENTS FOR SHEPHERD'S PIE

Ingredients for cottage pie.
These Shepherd pies are made with simple ingredient, that you probably already have at home, and if you do not have these ingredients, then you can easily find them at your nearest grocery store or at a super market.

Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes, peeled then boiled. You can substitute Yukon golds potatoes for russet potatoes.

Ground beef: This shepherd's pie is made with ground beef also called minced beef. If you want to make authentic shepherd's pie then use ground lamb, if you want authentic cottage pie then ground beef will do. Also you can use ground turkey.

Cheese: A cottage pie isn't complete without cheese. You can use Cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese.

Cheddamelt sauce: I have used store bought cheddamelt sauce, but you can use homemade cheddamelt sauce, it's quick and easy to make.

Red and green pepper: green and red pepper have a way of completing my pie recipes, they are great vegetables for my pies.

Onion: The onion is diced. I used one onion in each cottage pie. Therefore my two cottage pies required two onions.

Carrots: I couldn't think of any perfect vegetables for this pie recipe other than carrots. The carrots are grated.

Spring onion: I love adding both spring onion and regular onion to my cooking and baking.

Fresh basil and garlic: I added garlic and basil for extra flavor.

Tomato sauce: There is no replacing tomato sauce with tomato. Tomato sauce simply makes the ground beef extra delicious.

BBQ Sauce: Bbq sauce! A pleasant savory taste . A substitute is soy sauce.
Worcestershire sauce: worcestershire sauce gives the cottage pie so much savory and texture.

Lemon pepper spice: Just a bit for a perfect tangy taste.

Olive oil: Regular olive oil. I believe extra virgin olive oil can work just as good.

Milk: The milk gave the potatoes a creamier and richer texture.

Salt: Sea salt used.



 

HOW TO MAKE SHEPHERD'S PIE
Step by step

MASHED POTATOES
My easy shepherds pie recipe start with an easy mashed potatoes recipe.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe step by step
1. Peel the potatoes and bring to boil, add salt.
Cook the potatoes til they are tender.
2. Remove from the skillet pot and put in a bowl.
3. Mash the boiled potatoes and add some cheese and cheddamelt sauce.
4. Add fresh cream milk for a creamier and consistency mashed potatoes.


HOW TO COOK GROUND BEEF
Here is an easy step by step recipe of ground beef.
1. Season beef with lemon pepper and fry using olive oil on a medium-high heat using a skillet pan.
2. When Golden Brown adds diced onions, garlic, green and red pepper, and grated carrot, add tomato sauce, bbq, and Worcestershire sauce. Lastly, add basil and spring onion. Let the minced beef simmer for a few minutes.

 

HOW TO MAKE SHEPHERD'S PIE

Having prepared mashed potatoes and minced beef, let's now make shepherd's pie.
How to make shepherd's pie
How to make cottage pie
Step by step
Add ground beef in a pyrex casserole dish and top it up with mashed potatoes. Smoothen with a fork and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.



CAN I FREEZE SHEPHERD'S PIE?.
Yes. You can freeze shepherd's pie either before or after baking. Allow the pie to cool, then tightly cover and put in the fridge.

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This shepherd's pie is a crowd-pleaser. It's made with beef ( Making it a cottage pie)a classic Shepherd's pie with ground beef made in two Pyrex dishes to feed the whole family.

Shepherd's Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2kg white potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks
• 1kg ground beef
• 2 handfuls cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons cheddamelt sauce
• 1 Red pepper
• 1Green pepper
• 1 Onion
• 2 Tomatoes, finely grated
• 2 Carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 Spring Onion, finely diced
• 1 Fresh basil
• 1 Garlic, finely diced
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons BBQ Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper Spice
• Olive Oil, as needed
• 1 Teaspoon Salt or as needed

METHOD

1. Peel the potatoes and bring to boil and add salt. Season the ground beef with lemon pepper and fry using olive oil. When golden brown, add diced onion, garlic, green and red pepper and grated carrots.
2. Add Tomato sauce, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, basil and spring onion.
3. Bring to a slight boil and leave to simmer.
4. Mash boiled potatoes and add cheese and cheddamelt sauce. Add milk to give the potatoes a creamier and richer texture.
5. Add minced beef in a Pyrex dish and top it up with mashed potatoes, level the potatoes using a fork.
6. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

NOTES: 
1. Green and Red pepper are not very important in this recipe unless if you like how they taste and smell like I do, otherwise they can be omitted. 
2. Grated carrot is a must-have, so please look for carrots. 
3. I used a lot of ground beef because I am a ground beef enthusiast, but you can use a lot of vegetables like spinach and zucchini. 
4. Make ahead: assemble the pie( don't bake) once it has cooled, then freeze or refrigerate. 


Equipments Used: 
1. Nonstick 10-inch Skillet 
2. Maple Cutting Board 
3. Stainless Steel Cookware 
4. Chef's Knife 
5. Pyrex Dishes 
6. Fork

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