What to do with leftovers? Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie or Cottage Pie originated sometime around 1700 or 1800, depending upon who you talk to. Also depending upon who you talk to, there will be different ingredients. The basic ingredients consist of meat, crust, vegetables, and whatever spices the cook wants to throw in. Mutton or lamb makes a Shepherd’s Pie while beef makes the cottage pie. Again, who you talk to because one reference states that in Ireland the dish is Shepherd’s pie even when beef is used.

The basic premise of this meat pie is to use up the leftovers. Cooks the world over have had the problem of left over roast meat. But potatoes are a new world food and not popular in the British Iles until the 18^th century. Thus, the use of mashed potatoes is a new addition to an old recipe. Prior to the use of potatoes, meat pies were backed in slow ovens and served in pastry. Pies date back to 9500 BC in Egypt, oat, wheat, rye, and barley shells filled with honey and baked over hot coals made treats for Neolithic villagers.

The beauty of a shepherd or cottage pie resides In the versatility.  You can grind up left over meats or pick up your favorite grind from the butcher. You can throw in that left over leek (you know they come in packages of three, but the recipe calls for two?) and whatever spices you want. Got left over cheese? Toss it in. You don’t have to make it the same every time and you can use up those pesky bits and pieces.

The following recipe is a guide, a beginning. From here you can embellish as you wish. You can serve shepherd’s pie by itself, with a salad or with any other vegetable you like. We served it with roasted asparagus since I’m a fan of the asparagus and with Murphy’s Irish Red for an enjoyable dinner that serves 6.

2 lb potatoes
1 ½ lb ground lamb
4 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 T oil
1 T garlic
2 T butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 ¼ cup sharp cheddar, shredded.
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash and chop potatoes into quarters or eights and place in salted boiling water. I leave the peel on, but if you don’t like the peel, you can peel the potato before you boil. Boil until fork tender. Drain and return to pot. Add 2 T of butter and ¼ cup heavy cream. Mash until smooth. Add more cream as needed to make the potatoes smooth and easy to spread in the casserole. Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil in saute pan over medium heat. Place the carrots and onion in the hot oil and saute until soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Remove vegetables from pan and set aside. Put the lamb and garlic in the pat and brown.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 3 quart baking dish. Use half of the potatoes to line the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with ½ cup of cheese. Layer the vegetables, then the meat and sprinkle with another ½ cup of cheese. Top with the other half of the potatoes and sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes until heated through.