I am Irish-American but I don’t remember ever having shepherd’s pie before. The country’s traditional dish dates back to the late 1800s when peasant women would prepare the dish. Reuse leftovers from Sunday’s roast dinner.
But shepherd’s pie is making its way to America. Many American versions of shepherd’s pie use ground beef and turkey, whereas the Irish version uses lamb.
I tried making my own. Ina Garten’s recipe of shepherd’s PieThis recipe calls for ingredients such as carrots, celery and white button mushrooms.
A bag of potatoes usually weighs approximately 5 pounds. But the recipe called for just 3 pounds. This was enough to cover the entire pie.
The potatoes were then simmered until tender. This took approximately 20 minutes.
The recipe called out for celery, carrots, and white button mushroom finely chopped. To chop my vegetables, I used a food processor. I was pleased with the final product and it was the fastest way to prepare all my vegetables.
Once my vegetables had been chopped, I placed them in a small dish and began to cook the meat.
I also added tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Then, I continued cooking until the filling reached a simmer.
I hand-mashed the potatoes after draining them. I used the same pot that I had prepared them in. Although the recipe calls for a hand mixer to make creamy mashed potatoes I found that a potato masher was just as effective after adding whole milk, almost one stick of Kerry Gold butter and sour cream.
I baked the pie for around 30 minutes in the oven, even though the recipe said it should be done within 20 minutes.
Ovens are all different in terms of cooking times. I recommend checking the recipe until you are satisfied with the results.
The pie didn’t hold together well. However, I believe it would have held its shape if I let it sit for a few minutes before serving it. But I couldn’t resist getting in.
The mashed potatoes tasted creamy, the filling was perfectly spiced, and all the flavors were reflected in the vegetables. It was simple enough to be convenient for a winter weeknight meal, yet impressive enough for a dinner party or even game day.
This recipe was also enough to feed at most four people with plenty of leftovers. I gave this recipe a thumbs up.