Favourite Shepherd's Pie
Submitted by ciel
Cottage pie made with cubed leftover roast beef, white wine gravy, corn, and a piped mashed potato top crowned with sharp cheddar. A British comfort-food classic for using up Sunday roast.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
½ hrsCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1½ hrsDespite the British name, this is technically a cottage pie, since true shepherd’s pie uses lamb. Either way, it is one of the great uses for leftover Sunday roast beef. Diced beef goes into a savory white-wine gravy with finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, and parsley, then gets topped with mashed potatoes and a generous shower of sharp cheddar that browns under the broiler.
The cubed-meat technique sets this apart from the standard ground-beef shortcut version. Quarter-inch cubes of roast beef give you actual bites of meat with character, instead of the ground texture most weeknight versions land on. It is the difference between a humble casserole and a real pub-style pie.
The white wine in the gravy is the other quiet upgrade. It deglazes the saute pan, lifts the fond into the sauce, and brings acidity that cuts the richness. Worcestershire sauce stacks the umami higher.
Chef Tips
- Use cold leftover mashed potatoes for piping. They hold a peak much better than warm.
- Pipe with a star tip for the classic decorative texture, or score with a fork for that nostalgic British-pub look.
- The piped peaks brown beautifully in the broiler. Watch closely, they go from golden to burnt fast.
- A splash of cream or extra butter in the mashed potatoes makes them silkier on top.
- Let the pie rest 10 minutes after baking so the filling sets and slices cleanly.
Variations
- Swap beef for ground lamb to make a true traditional shepherd’s pie.
- Add a cup of frozen peas with the corn for the classic English pie filling.
- Stir a tablespoon of horseradish into the mashed potatoes for a sharp, punchy top.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the meat into ¼ inch cubes. There should be about 3 cups.
Set aside. Heat the butter in a saucepan and add onions, carrots, celery and parsley. Cook, stirring, until the onions are wilted.
Sprinkle with flour and stir with a wire whisk. Add the tomato paste, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce and pepper, stirring rapidly with the whisk.
Let simmer 10 minutes and stir in the cubed meat and the corn. Cook 5 minutes longer.
Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Put the meat and sauce in a seven -cup baking dish or casserole. Outfit a pastry bag with a round pastry tube- -No. 7 or 8--and spoon mashed potatos into the bag. (No need for this really. You can just spread the potatoes nicely with a spoon/butter knife etc.)
Pipe the potatoes neatly and evenly on top of the meat mixture, covering it completely. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and place the dish in the oven.
Bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until the dish is piping hot throughout and the cheese is melted. If necessary, run the dish briefly under the broiler to glaze the top.
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