Déise Dishes : Shepherd's Pie with a Cheddar Chive Mash

Today I made Shepherd's Pie with a Cheddar Chive Mash

Shepherd's Pie is one of my favourite and easiest family dinners to make. Shepherd’s pie is a savory dish made with a meat base – usually ground lamb, beef or a combination of the two with vegetables and a gravy sauce, topped with potatoes and baked to golden perfection. From what I gather, the dish was created by resourceful housewives as a way to use up leftovers. It makes sense. Take a little of this and a bit of that, bake it all together in a pie and voilà! It’s not leftovers anymore. It’s a whole new and delicious dinner.

Shepherds Pie is a perfect dish if you need to feed a number of people as everybody gets served from the one dish. It's so versatile when it comes to ingredients as you can add in an assortment of Vegetables, use whatever Meat you like, jazz up the mash and even add a Cheese of choice to top. I made mine today using lean Mince Meat adding in Carrots, Onions, Sweetcorn and Peas and jazzed up my mash by adding in a red cheddar Cheese and Chives. You can also make this dish using Lean Turkey Mince and Sweet Potatoes if you are following a low fat, low Carb or Paleo diet.

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

For the Mash:

1 Kg Potatoes
30g Butter
10 mls Milk
2 Handfuls of Chopped Chives
Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
1 Egg Yolk
2 Cloves of Garlic
80g Red Cheddar Cheese

For the Mince:

1Kg Lean Mince Meat
1 Large Onion
80g Sweetcorn
80g Garden Peas
80g Baby Carrots

For the Sauce:

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
400mls Gravy of choice

Instructions:

1. Wash and Peal your potatoes. I like to use Roosters, Kerr's Pinks, Golden Wonders or Queens if I'm making mash. Floury Potatoes give a smoother mash.

2. Cut the Potatoes into small cubes and boil them in salted water for 10-15 minutes or until softened, time will vary depending on size of cubes.

3. While the Potatoes are boiling, fry the Mince in a frying pan on a medium heat. No oil is needed as the Mince will release any fat and this will act to oil the pan. Fry till brown. Add in the finely chopped Onion and fry till softened.

4. Add in the Carrots, Peas and Sweetcorn. I always precook the carrots so they don't take long to cook, it's only a matter of preheating them.

5. Stir everything together. Add in the Worcestershire Sauce, Gravy, Tomato Sauce and Sweet Paprika and allow to simmer.

6. While the Sauce is simmering you can make the Potato Topping. Strain and Mash the Potatoes to get rid of any lumps. Add in the Milk, Butter and Egg Yolk and beat with a whisk or fork. Crush in the Garlic and stir through. Chop the Chives and mix in carefully. Season to taste.

7. Place meat mixture into a baking dish and flatten so there is a even layer.

8. Spoon the Potato mixture on top of the Mince Meat and spread evenly using a spatula. Using a fork press a pattern into the Potato. I normally do a series of lines as this creates a larger surface area and allows for the top to get crispier.