Shepherd’s Pie has always been a favorite wintertime meal. Ours is made with lamb – we read somewhere that shepherds herd sheep not cows, haha! – but you can certainly substitute ground beef, if you prefer.
Ingredients
For the filling:
• 1 pound lamb
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 roasted carrots diced
• 2 roasted parsnips diced
• 1 roasted turnip diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or powder
• 1 cup Guinness or other dark beer
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, thyme or a combination
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• pinch ground cinnamon
For the potato topping:
• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons butter divided
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces Irish cheese such as Dubliner®, finely shredded
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoons milk
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 425° F.
• Wash, peel and cut the carrots, parsnips and turnip into 2” slices. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven 25-30 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Dice the veggies into small pieces and set aside.
Make the filling:
• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Brown the lamb in a cast iron skillet coated with olive oil over medium heat.
• When the lamb is fully cooked, remove the meat from the skillet and add the chopped onion.
• Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the lamb and roasted vegetables to the skillet, and stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire, beer, rosemary and/or thyme, paprika and cinnamon.
• Cook until the mixture is reduced by about half, then add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Divide among 4 8-ounce ramekins.
Prepare potato topping:
• While cooking the lamb filling, place potatoes into a large pan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and return potatoes to pan.
• Mash butter, cayenne pepper, heavy cream, and Irish cheese into the potatoes. (we use handheld beaters here). Mash until combined and potatoes are smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper
• Whisk together egg yolk and milk in a small bowl; stir into the mashed potato mixture
• Top the lamb mixture in the ramekins with the mashed potatoes and spread evenly to cover. Or pipe them over the top of the meat using a decorating tip and a pastry bag for a festive look.
• Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes.
