Shepherds Pie or Cottage Pie?
Posted on March 31, 2010 by Nina Timm in lamb
Shepherds Pie was first made in England in the 1870’s and it differs somewhat from other pie recipes in that it has a base of ground meat with a layer of mashed potatoes on top. There is no pastry involved here. Shepherds pie is authentically made with ground or minced lamb.
Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
1 kg boneless shoulder of lamb
2 tbsp flour
salt/pepper
1/2 tsp fine cloves
2 tsp whole dry coriander – dry-fried and pounded in the pestle and mortar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
1 stick celery finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
50 gr tomato paste
1 tbsp Worchestire sauce
250ml vegetable or lamb stock
For the mashed potatoes
1 kg potatoes – peeled and cut in chunks
200ml milk
2 egg yolks
a big knob of butter – about 2 tbsp
Method
Ask your butcher to mince the lamb for you or trim off the excess fat and process it in your food processor until it is minced roughly. Add the flour and seasonings and toss until evenly coated.
Heat a heavy based pot and add the olive oil. Add the minced meat and stir until the meat has browned somewhat. Add all the other ingredients and cook the lamb for about 10 minutes or until the stock has reduced and the lamb has formed a thick gravy. Transfer the meat to an oven proof dish. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, boil them in salted water until cooked and then drain well. Heat the milk in a separate little pot. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher and pour the heated the milk over the potatoes. Add a knob of butter and the egg yolks and mix well until smooth and creamy. Spoon the potato mixture in a piping bag and make rosettes on the meat or just spoon it directly on the meat, making patterns with your fork.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes until the potato topping has browned. Serve with your choice of vegetables or salad.
Other Pie recipes that you might like…
Beef with Potato Scone topping
29 Responses to “Shepherds Pie or Cottage Pie?”
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September 15, 2014
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Lamb mince… now that's something I've never seen or tasted. I love lamb though so I'm sure it's delicious. Your pastytjie is al te vraai and pretty!
My goodness! Look at those perfectly piped potatoes! This looks amazing!
This is the most delicious-looking shepherd's pie I have ever laid my eyes upon, Nina. Can you please come and live in my house and make this for me every day? Stunning.
This is comfort food at it's best Nina!!!!I just love a good shepherd's pie and we do make it out of whatever we have available.
I love them both actually wether it's shepherd's pie or cottage pie. Now is a good time to make shepherd's pie, it's spring here, so young lamb is everywhere.
I can't believe I have never made a Shepherd's Pie in my life. Something I must fix! Yours looks beautiful and I love how you piped the potatoes over the top.
I think you're right about Americans calling anything with meat and potatoes a Shepherd's Pie – I definitely didn't know the difference and I'm married to an Irishman! Now this one will throw you for a loop – on St. Patrick's Day I made us "Shepherd's Pie" with sausage (turkey) – what would that be called?
Shepherd's Pie, definitely with ground lamb. I can see you're tucking into heartier dishes day by day.
Look at that topping!
A grand display you have shared here! Lamb is the classic recipe, all of the rest are "what's available" shepherd's pie! Lamb is quite expensive and I would imagine this adds to the variety of meat choices.
Comforting indeed. Looks like a hug on a plate.
Oh the pie looks so delicious!
sam – Pasteitjie being the operative word here!
emily – I just wanted to show off a bit, he-he!!
juno – we've had a conference and we've had demos, I think it is time we cook together and just have fun?
val – Absolutely me too, I just wanted to make a point here to show the difference!
elra – the beauty of this is that it can also me mutton really, you just need to cook for a while longer!
savoring time in the kitchen – the pointy bits of the potato bake so nicely and it adds a lovely dimension to this simple dish!
that girl – I should try that sometime although turkey is not that readily available here!
peter – Yes, we have pushed the salads aside for a while!
cynthia – thanx sweetie!
red kathy – lamb is also expensive here, but like I've said, I wanted to prove a point here!
adele – hugs to you!
sook – thank for popping in!
okay,Juno is going to have share you on alternative days, my boys will love this. As you say, it's time for the comfort food to come back to the Cape Town kitchen.
Have a great weekend.
Ek hou van die 'ouvrou onder die kombers' naam!
Food styling perfect – really accentuates the comforting rustic-ness of Shepherd's Pie. I like the addition of coriander & cloves to the meat – I imagine the flavour would be divine!
I'm often confused by these two pies too. Thanks for reminding me of their difference.
Looks lovely…I love the piped potatoes on top and the bit of greenery
Oh Nina, this looks like a wonderful and comforting dish. I love how you piped the potatoes on top, they look so pretty and delicious.
Sheperd pie, cottage pie, ouvrou onder die kombers, Nina's pie…yours can go under any name and it will still be delicious…it looks absolutely gorgeous with those beautiful "roses"! I haven't eaten this in many years…car to fedex me a slice/spoonful/
Ronelle xx
Looks fabulous! I'm sure it tasted great. Not so sure I like the name "old woman under the blanket" that is one unappetizing name! haha
Wishing you and your family a very lovely Easter Nina! I'm sure you're cooking up a storm!
LL
P.S. Your photos are terrific, you have such a knack for the little details in the shot.
What a lovely looking pie! I love the way you've done the potato on top!
Nina, love your intro for the Shepherd pie 🙂 And it sure looks delicious, love the way you decorated…nice meal and very soothing! Great pictures as well. By the way, thank you so much for your kind words 😉
I put diced carrots and spinach in mine, for extra moisture and extra veg. Also a bottle of beer to deglaze. Bellhaven works really well! Mine never looks as pretty as yours though as I just pile the mashed potatoes on for a, shall we say, rustic look.
We always called it shepherd's pie whether it was beef or lamb, growing up in England too – though I knew it was supposed to be lamb for shepherds and beef for cottagers!
I make it regularly for my kids, and it is an ideal hiding place for small chopped vegetables, so I include carrots and courgettes in mine as well. Mine has never been quite as beautiful as yours though!
I love shepards pie. Your recipe looks delicious and those potatoes look fabulous!
Just gorgeous! Shepherd's/Cottage Pie is a favorite in our house. Sometimes, when time is short, I'll cook up the meat mixture and scoop it over baked jacket potatoes. Totally delicious!
Oooh, that looks divine! Lamb mince can be a bit, well… lamby for me, bt I like to mix lamb and beef mince. Wonder what THAT would be called?? Gorgeous pics!
This is so awesome!this pie is really good!