Shepherd's Pie
Ground lamb and root vegetables in a dark gravy, capped with mashed potato and baked until the peaks catch color.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Written
Method
-
Boil the potatoes in salted water until a knife slides in without resistance, about 20 minutes.
-
Drain and mash with the milk and butter until smooth, then season with salt.
-
Meanwhile, brown the lamb in a large skillet over high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains.
-
Remove the lamb and add the onion, carrots, and celery to the fat left behind; cook until the onion turns translucent.
-
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the paste darkens a shade.
-
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for a minute to cook out the raw taste.
-
Return the lamb to the pan with the stock, Worcestershire, and rosemary; simmer until the gravy coats the back of a spoon.
-
Season to taste and spread the filling in a baking dish.
-
Cover the filling with the mashed potato, dragging a fork through the top to make ridges, and dot with butter.
-
Bake at 400°F until the filling bubbles at the edges and the potato peaks are deep golden, about 25 minutes.
Notes
The gravy has to be thick before it goes under the potato — thin enough to pour and it turns to soup in the oven, thick enough to coat a spoon and the pie holds its shape when you cut into it. Don’t rush the flour step; it needs that minute in the hot fat to lose its raw taste before the stock goes in.
Ground beef stands in for the lamb without any other changes, though purists will point out that makes it a cottage pie. Leftovers reheat better than they have a right to — a covered dish in a 350°F oven for twenty minutes brings the potato back to life.