I decided to get in touch with my Irish roots this weekend and whip up a Shepherds Pie. This was my first time making one and I got to say I don’t know why I’ve waited this long! It’s really delicious and a great one pan meal. Of course with St. Patrick’s Day and Pi Day being this week I decided to celebrate the days with one dish!
I know Shepherds pie is usually made with all the lamb, and while I like lamb, I find the flavor can be too strong at times. So I decided to mix it with ground beef to keep some of the lamb flavor without it being overbearing. Also, I happened to have the right amounts of both ground beef and ground lamb in my freezer so that’s what I went with!
While this recipe requires lots of steps it’s really an easy recipe to make! Making the mashed potatoes is a cinch and the rest of the pie is made in one pot. You could even bake the Shepherds pie in the cast iron if you didn’t feel like dirtying another dish.
Whether you are Irish or not, this is a great recipe to celebrate St. Patty’s Day or any day of the week!
Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 large Russett potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg yolk
Pie
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- ½ large (or 1 cup) onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ lb ground lamb
- ¾ lb ground beef
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
- ¾ cup fresh or frozen peas
Instructions
For the potatoes
- Add peeled and diced potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover and place on high heat to bring to boil. Once boiling remove lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes and mash with potato masher in a bowl.
- Melt butter and heat milk in the same saucepan. Add warm milk mixture to mashed potatoes and mash together until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in egg yolk and set potatoes aside.
For the pie
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- While potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sautéed for an additional minute.
- Add ground lamb and beef to the pan and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes.
- Sprinkle in flour and stir to coat meat for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in peas and stir to combine.
- Pour mixture into a 7 x 11 inch pan and top with mashed potatoes, making sure the potatoes cover the edges so that the mixture doesn't boil up. Smooth potatoes with a spatula.
- Place pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
