A humble dish cooks up cozy memories: Shepherd’s Pie

Originally created as a frugal way to use leftovers, shepherd’s pie, a hearty UK favorite, combines lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes, then baked. Recipe below.

ON MY WORST DAYS IN HIGH SCHOOL—a pop quiz, homework not done, any day that started with 8am swim class—one thing could reliably turn the day around, at least for a while. That was walking into the cafeteria at lunch and seeing shepherd’s pie on the menu.

My decent-sized city high school, about 2700 kids when I was there, had its own kitchen where the lunch ladies (there were possibly lunch men too, but we never saw them) cooked lunches every day for the couple of thousand kids who didn’t bring their own or skip it. There were always two or three entrées to choose from, some more successful than others and some that remained stubbornly in rotation even though I never saw anyone eat them.

And then there was the shepherd’s pie. Baked in industrial-sized sheet pans, then cut into perfect cubes three inches or more on each side, the top half was a layer of mashed potatoes, slightly browned on the top. The bottom was ground beef that somehow attained sufficient structural integrity to remain in cube form without being hamburger-chewy. To this culinarily anti-adventurous teenager, it was heaven.

Recently, I came across the mere words shepherd’s pie somewhere, not even a recipe. Such waves of nostalgia washed over me I knew I had to make my own. My research led to a couple of surprises.

First, what the lunch ladies made was not true shepherd’s pie. There was no lamb in it (I’m sure there was never lamb in any form in my school’s kitchen). True shepherd’s pie is made with lamb. Traditionally, the same recipe made with beef is called cottage pie, to distinguish it. That said, most cooks play fast and loose with the terms these days, and either version may be called shepherd’s pie. Some recipes even call for a mix of ground lamb and ground beef.

Shepherd’s (or cottage) pie was created as a humble dish in Scotland or Northern England in the late 1700s, a way to use up leftovers. Chunks of lamb or beef left over from the Sunday roast were cooked with whatever vegetables were at hand. Then it was all topped with mashed potatoes and baked (the Scottish version had a pastry top). The use of ground meat only came about after the invention of mincing machines in the 1870s. This frugal leftovers dish has become a favorite throughout the UK—and pretty much anywhere it’s served.

The second surprise was the vegetables. In my high school version, there were none. Possibly onion powder and, even less likely, garlic powder—but no actual vegetables. For my own take on shepherd’s pie, I stuck with the most often cited, peas and carrots.

The actual cooking of this dish led to its own surprise. With the restrained use of herbs and aromatics in recipes across the board, I expected it to land firmly at the plain, stick-to-your-ribs end of the spectrum. Good and comforting, but in a bland sort of way. It was the opposite—nuanced, complex and I’m-going-to-make-this-again delicious.

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Shepherd's Pie

Originally created as a frugal way to use leftovers, shepherd's pie, a hearty UK favorite, combines lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes, then baked.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British/Scottish

Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

• For the potatoes:
• 2 pounds Yukon potatoes or others (see Kitchen Notes)
• salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or plain milk (see Kitchen Notes)
• For the lamb filling:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb or beef (see Kitchen Notes)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3/4 cup unsalted or low-salt beef broth (can substitute chicken broth)
• 10- ounce package of frozen peas and carrots

Instructions

• Make the potatoes. Peel and cube potatoes. Put in a large pot with cold water to cover by an inch. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil over a high flame. Season generously with salt, reduce heat to simmer and cook, partially covered, until just tender, about 15 minutes.
• Drain and return potatoes to pot. Briefly return to heat to cook off excess moisture. Using a hand masher, mash in the butter. (Do this before adding the buttermilk—for some scientific reason I can't dredge up right now, this makes them taste more buttery and keeps them from having a gluey texture.) Mash in the buttermilk and adjust seasoning with salt. Set aside.
• Make the lamb filling. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat olive oil in a deep, large skillet or sauté pan over medium flame. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add lamb to pan. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.
• Clear a space in the middle of the pan and add thyme, rosemary and garlic. Cook, stirring until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir to combine and clear another space in the middle. Add tomato paste and cook for a minute or two, mashing against the bottom of the pan to brown it slightly. Sprinkle flour over the lamb and stir to combine everything. Add broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid slightly thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in peas and carrots, and remove from heat.
• Assemble and bake the dish. Spoon lamb filling into a 3-quart casserole, flattening out evenly across the bottom. Top with mashed potatoes, spreading them evenly over the lamb. Make sure to spread them to the edges of the casserole—this will minimize the filling bubbling out on the sides (it probably won't eliminate it, but that's okay). Some recipes have you drag a fork across the top of the potatoes to create an easily brownable surface. I did this, but you don't need to.
• Transfer casserole to a rack in the center of the oven and bake until the potato topping is lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes. If it doesn't brown to your liking, you can pop the casserole under the broiler for 2 or 3 minutes. I did this.
• Remove from oven and let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Kitchen Notes

You say potato, I say Yukon. For mashed potatoes, they're our favorites. But whatever your favorite mashing potato is will be fine. Many recipes specify russet potatoes.

Buttermilk? We really like the nice tang buttermilk adds to mashed potatoes. And I find using it lets me get away with less butter, while still having delicious potatoes. But use whatever milk you have on hand—you can use cream if you're feeling luxurious.

Lamb? Beef? We love lamb, and for this dish, it adds both a lightness and a richness. But ground beef will also work. You can either keep mum or impress your guests by explaining that it's "actually cottage pie."