My take on shepherd’s pie sticks pretty closely to the classic versions with a few tricks for enhancing flavours and is easy to make. On a recent little trip to Yorkshire, it seemed like the perfect time to cook something quintessentially English. Or is it?
Many bleat their jingoistic views on “authentically English” shepherd’s pie or cottage pie. But it’s another example of where a good cooking idea spread far and wide at a particular time. Furthermore, the French version, hachis Parmentier, is documented around the same time—at the end of the 18th century— as the oldest English records of the dish, and is linked to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, for whom it's named. Parmentier was a curious cove, a pharmacist and kind of proto-nutritionist, he championed potatoes as good nutrition in France. He's also remembered as the person who successfully lobbied Napoleon to introduce mandatory smallpox vaccination in France.
So, yes, my very “English” shepherd’s pie has a couple of French touches.
The other big debate about “authenticity” is whether one should use fresh minced lamb or the leftovers of a massive lamb/mutton roast joint. Since we now live in a world with refrigeration and few of us follow the 19th-century pattern of cooking a massive chunk of meat on a Sunday and eking out its leftovers for the rest of the week, I’m opting for fresh. But, if you want the dish as an historical enactment, feel free to don your Jane Austen drag and use leftover lamb instead.
This recipe serves 3 to 4 diners. Use you basic arithmetic skills to upscale it. Also, pay attention to the timings on how the kale is cooked. One of the things all these zennimillennis never bothered to learn before they set their sites on kale is that it's one of the few veggies that tastes a lot better if it is cooked for longer.
Shopping list
the shepherd's pie
475 to 500g minced lamb (20% fat)
A large brown or white onion, diced
3 to 4 sticks of celery, finely sliced
60g of fresh parsley, very finely chopped
Approx. 6 tbspns unsalted butter
A standard glass of white wine
2 cups of diced carrots and swede. These can be either fresh or defrosted from frozen
2 tbspns dried mixed herbs (thyme, marjoram, parsley, oregano, sage, basil)
1 standard can/bottle of beer (or cloudy cider)
Salt and pepper to taste
A vegetable stock cube or jelly, diluted in a cup of boiling water
The stem of a large broccoli, finely chopped (see below)
3 to 4 large potatoes, peeled and boiled ( I favour Albert Bartlett potatoes, but you can use anything that works well as mash)
Approx. 175g extra mature cheddar, grated
4 tbspns sesame seeds
for the green side dish
1 large broccoli, hand-snapped into florets
Approx. 250g fresh kale
1 conference pear, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
A vegetable stock cube or jelly, diluted in boiling water
Cooking Method
the first bits
Hand-break the broccoli into florets and rinse with cold water in a colander. Roughly chop the thick central stalk. Put this to one side; you'll use it in the shepherd's pie
Peel the pear and slice into thin vertical slices. Spread them out on a plate, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, first over one side, then the other. Cover and place in the fridge
Boil the peeled potatoes in salted water on a high heat until ready to mash. Once boiled, mash, folding in 3 to 4 tbspns of the butter and half of the grated cheese. Add ground pepper and salt to taste and allow to rest (you can even do this the day before and store in the fridge overnight)
the shepherd's pie - first stage
In a large pot with a lid, melt approx. 2 tbspns of butter on a high heat. Once the butter begins to bubble, add the chopped onion and sweat
Before the onion browns, add the chopped celery and and fresh parsley, stirring the mixture well and adding additional butter if necessary to prevent sticking
When the celery shows signs of cooking but not yet becoming soft (e.g. 5 mins), throw in the white wine and allow the liquid to cook off, stirring almost constantly
Because lamb is rather fatty, you may not need to add any additional butter, but do so if it sticks as you add it. Stir in the minced lamb, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula, ensuring it's properly sealed and combines with the other ingredients
When the lamb changes colour to greyish, brownish indicating it's sealed, add the dried mixed herbs and stir in. Pour in approx. a third of the bottle/can of beer. Cover and cook on a high heat for 5 to 7 mins, checking regularly and stirring to ensure it does not stick
When almost all of the liquid has boiled off, add the carrots, swede and chopped broccoli stalk and another third of the beer and stir in. Add half a cup of the hot liquid stock (or as much as it takes for the ingredients to be comfortably covered with liquid). Cover and allow the mixture to come back to the boil for another 5 to 7 mins. Then stir, reduce the heat, cover and allow it to simmer. You can cook it in about an hour on a slightly higher heat, but for best results allow it to simmer on a very low heat for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. As the liquid cooks off, top up with a mixture of the remaining beer and liquid stock
Once the lamb is fully cooked and there is no longer any liquid left in the pot, stir thoroughly, remove from the heat and allow to cool
the shepherd's pie - second stage
When fully cooled, spoon the lamb mixture into a suitable oven-proof baking dish. Make sure it is deep enough to not spread the lamb too thin. Cover with the mashed potatoes using a spatula (or a piping bag if you're fancy). You can actually do this a day or two before you plan to serve the dish and store, covered loosely with cling film, in the fridge. I personally think allowing it to settle overnight improves the flavours
Sprinkle the remainder of the grated cheese on top of the potato. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/356°F/gas mark 4 for approx. 1 hour. If the topping has not sufficiently crisped, towards the end of the cooking time, increase the heat 1200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 until golden brown
Turn off the oven and allow to rest for 5 mins. Remove and allow to rest for a further 5 mins before serving. Take to table and allow diners to help themselves
the green side dish
Add the diluted stock cube and chopped garlic to a sizeable pot with a lid and bring to the boil. Add the kale, adding additional boiling water if needed to ensure it has room to boil. Cover and boil vigorously for at least 5 min. The reduce the heat and simmer for at least 15 to 20 mins on a low heat.
Only when the kale shows signs of being notably softened (munching on a leaf is the best way to tell) add the broccoli and simmer for a further 6 to 7 mins or until you can push a fork through the floret stems without resistance
Drain thoroughly in a colander and place in a serving dish. Top with the slices of the peppered pear and its juice. Take to table
Pairings
Because lamb can be fatty (though less so in this dish where the swede does a great job of absorbing it) I find lighter reds often work better than heavier wines. On this particular occasion, we stuck with the excellent workaday Tuscan Chianti Riserva from Lidl that I served with an Italian dish the day before. It did the job perfectly.
But, of course, if you want to channel that quintessential Englishness of shepherd's pie, it's a dish that works very well with beers or ciders.
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