2 L
container is slightly larger than you will need, but it stops the pie filling overflowing onto my oven floor. Author: Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas Serves: Serves 8 Ingredients To cook the lentils 230g small green French (Puy) lentils 1 bay leaf For the filling 2 Tablespoons olive oil or ghee 2 onions, diced 3 carrots (approx 300g), diced 400g mushrooms, diced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 Tablespoons finely chopped rosemary 500g minced lamb 1½ Tablespoons (30ml) plain flour^ 400ml vegetable or lamb stock 400g tin crushed tomatoes 3 Tablespoons tomato paste 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 3-4 sprigs thyme sprigs 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley Salt & Pepper For the topping 1kg potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped. 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter ⅓ cup (60ml) milk, plus extra Salt & Pepper Instructions To cook the lentils If the lentils have been soaked overnight, rinse and drain them. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan, add the bay leaf, and cover the lentils with cold water. Bring the lentils to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 12 minutes (soaked) to 20 minutes (unsoaked), or until the lentils are just soft enough to be crushed between your fingers. Drain the lentils, retain the bay leaf, and set aside. To make the filling Add the oil and onions to a large fry pan with a lid (or a large dutch oven) over a medium heat , and saute the onions for 10 minutes, or until softened and browned. Add the carrots and saute for a further 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and saute for a further 3 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened. Stir in the garlic and the chopped rosemary, and saute for a further minute. Stir the lamb mince into the vegetables, and cooking for a further 3 minutes, or until the meat is lightly browned. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and vegetable mixture, stir through, and cook for a further minute. It may be necessary to scrape the bottom of the pan if the meat starts to stick. Gently pour in the stock, stirring it through the meat and vegetables, and simmer gently until the mixture slightly thickens. Add the remainder of the ingredients, including the drained lentils and the reserved bay leaf. Season with salt & pepper, and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture thickens too much, stir in a little water. To make the topping Whilst the filling is cooking, boil or steam the potatoes until quite soft. I prefer to steam my potatoes using a steaming basket in a large saucepan. Drain the potatoes, and allow them to sit without a lid for two minutes to allow them to dry slightly. Add the butter and milk to the saucepan, and season with salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes together with the butter and milk. If the mixture seems too stiff, add a little more milk. You are aiming for a smooth mash that can be spread across the top of the pie. To assemble the pie Remove the thyme sprigs from the meat mixture. Discard. Spoon the filling into the bottom of the casseroles dish(es). Top the filling with the mashed potato. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon. At this point I like to rough up the top of the mash with a fork, which will brown in the heat of the oven. The pies can be frozen at this point. * If serving immediately, cook the pie at 200C (180C fan forced) for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until the top has browned and the filling is bubbling up the side. Serve with a simple salad or steamed vegetables. Notes * The pie can be cooked from frozen, however I prefer to defrost it first. If cooking from frozen, I would add at least an extra 20 minutes to the cooking time.^ The pie will be gluten free if you use a gluten free plain flour. 3.3.3077
Set lentils aside. you don’t want there to be too much broth or liquid in the bottom of the pan, because you’ll get a runny shepherd’spie, but you do want it to be quite moist
Brown the lamb, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. I intended to use little chunks of lean lamb, but Whole Foods didn't have any, so I went with ground lamb
Cottage pie is usually made with beef and Shepherd’spie is usually made with lamb. This skillet shepherd’spie is loaded with flavorful beef and veggies then topped with fluffy and creamy mashed potatoes, then baked to perfection
Stir in the cooked lentils and frozen peas, and allow to mixture to heat through. To achieve a browned surface on the mashed potatoes (optional), turn on the oven's broiler (and place the pie under it, if not already), and watch closely until the top has browned to your liking
Tip• Instead of using a baking dish for the Shepherd'. s Pie, keep the filling in the (ovenproof) sauté pan in which you cook it, top with the crust, and bake it all in the oven for a skillet version that won'
Comments
Log in or Register to write a comment.