Shepherds Pie

Shepherds pie to me is perfect comfort food.  You have a deliciously rich stew that’s covered with a thick blanket of mashed potatoes and then baked to bubbly perfection.  What’s not to love about that?  This was my first try at shepherds pie made with lamb, which is what shepherds pie is traditionally made with.

In the past, I’ve made shepherds pie with ground beef.  It’s delicious, but I had this beautiful lamb stew meat that I’d gotten from Whole Foods and it was just screaming at me to turn it into a shepherds pie.  Well, let me just say, I was not disappointed with this version.  It was so rich and delicious.  The lamb was perfectly tender and the sauce was so flavorful.  I topped it off with some homemade mashed potatoes, but you could certainly use store bought potatoes.  If you’re looking for a homemade recipe, give this one a try.  It’s for garlic mashed potatoes, which would be delicious on top of the lamb stew, but if you’d like plain mashed potatoes (I used plain), just omit the garlic.

I really recommend making this dish with lamb, but if you don’t like lamb, you could certainly use beef stew meat instead and it would still be delicious.

Shepherds Pie

• 1 lb lamb stew meat (you could use beef, if you prefer)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 3/4 tsp pepper, divided
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 large stalks celery, sliced
• 4 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup beer (I used a lager)
• 1 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup peas
• 4 cups mashed potatoes

Heat oil in over medium high heat in a dutch oven pot.

Season lamb with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Add to pot and saute until meat is browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove lamb from pot and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium.

Add onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic to pot.  Saute for about 5 minutes until onions are translucent.

Stir in thyme and tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute.

Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and stir until everything is well coated, about another minute.

Add beer to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce,  bring to a simmer.

Return lamb to the pot and add remaining 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, until lamb is tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in peas.

Spoon mixture into an 8×8 baking dish, coated with cooking spray.

Top with mashed potatoes.

Bake for 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

If you’d like your potatoes more browned, turn the broiler on for a couple of minutes at the end of the cooking time.

*TIP* Place baking dish on a baking sheet to prevent spills in your oven if it bubbles over.

ENJOY!