Happy almost St. Patty’s Day!!! ☘️☘️☘️ I’m originally from Chicago, so I look forward to seeing the river turn green each year!
My husband does not think of Chicago as Irish. He thinks of Boston as Irish, but not Chicago. And in true New Yorker fashion, I’m all like “screw Boston!” (Sorry Bostonians, ya know that rivalry is mixed with some love!). But, I say “screw Boston!” because Chicago is the home of the Irish outside of Ireland! I don’t care what Bostonians say… I’m not listening to them. I’m born and bred Chicago.
Anywho! The culmination of my Irish recipes is my shepherd’s pie! Now, I realize that shepherd’s pie has become synonymous with cottage pie, but it irks me to no end when American bloggers claim they’re one in the same. They’re not. And I can tell you that from the many Irish restaurants I’ve gone to that have both shepherd’s pie and cottage pie on the menu, they are different dishes!
People have adapted shepherd’s pie to be a beef mince dish, but traditionally, it’s actually a lamb dish. Even I have been guilty of making a beef mince and calling it shepherd’s pie. I usually only use beef when my grocery store doesn’t have any ground lamb or I’m just feeling lazy about it (aka, I’ve got everything else on hand at home and I am not going to the store just to get lamb mince!).
I actually kind of think of cottage pie as the dish you make with your weekly leftovers… whatever veg you still have laying about and the leftover mash you have from the meals that week.
Shepherd’s pie is sacred in my house… or sacred to me and therefore is sacred in my house? It’s been part of my cultural experience since growing up in England. I think more than any other recipes, shepherd’s pie is the dish that defined my life in England. Don’t get me wrong… fish and chips and bangers and mash were definitely part of that experience, but shepherd’s pie is what defined it for me. It’s also the one dish that we brought home with us back to the States. The dish my mom continued to cook. She didn’t bring any other recipe home with us.
I can’t say that this recipe is my mom’s or a recipe passed down to me. It’s not. Honestly, my mom’s shepherd’s pie was super basic and nothing special at all. There was one time, shortly after my son was born… my now ex-husband and I were staying with her while I finished up my last year of college… and I made a shepherd’s pie that I was super happy with and proud of. We had it for dinner and put the leftovers in the fridge. The next day, I went to have leftovers for lunch and see that a bunch of tomato soup had been poured into my leftover shepherd’s pie. I was like “wtf????” My mom had wanted to “improve” my leftovers by adding tomato soup to it. Needless to say, I was pissed… livid that she would do that to a dish I made, let alone do it without asking… I mean, good god, why?
It’s funny the moments that stick with you. But I will never forget my mom bastardizing a dish I was so proud of making! Well, my shepherd’s pie has come a long way since then. Much older and much more skilled in the kitchen.
As noted, this is a traditional shepherd’s pie, which means the meat base is lamb. I have made this with just ground lamb, but occasionally, as in this instance, I also made it with chunks of lamb. The chunks of tender lamb make this dish extra special! I mention in my beef and Guinness pie recipe that the key to tender meat is quickly searing it on the outside. And this is particularly important when cooking with smaller pieces of meat. The meat finishes cooking in the gravy and is super tender.
Instead of tomato soup 🙄, I use a good dollop of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce. Sometimes I add barbecue sauce. Other times I add Vegemite. This time around, I kept it simpler and truer to a traditional pie.
To “fancy up” the topping, I added Kerrygold Dubliner Irish cheddar. I wanted an extra cheesy bite in the mash, and Kerrygold cheddar is the perfect addition! I don’t always do this because I don’t need the extra calories. But as this is for St. Patty’s Day, I felt it was absolutely worth the extra calories!
The lamb and gravy cook in about the same amount of time as the potatoes. I let the lamb and sauce continue to simmer while the oven preheats. You can let the sauce simmer longer, if you want, to give the flavors more time to meld. I always feel that with gravies and sauces like this, the more time you give them, the better they get. The recipe, however, doesn’t call for that because I know people have lives to get on with.
If you haven’t tried a traditional shepherd’s pie made with a traditional lamb meat base, then you absolutely must try it! I love lamb meat! I find it so much more flavorful than beef! If you decide to make shepherd’s pie and use beef, just remember to call it a cottage pie 😉.
Enjoy!
Traditional Shepherd’s Pie with Cheesy Mash
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 – 8 servings 1x
- Category: Irish, British
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
1 lb lamb shoulder, bone removed and cut into 1” chunks
1 lb ground lamb
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup tomato paste
⅓ cup flour
⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup steak sauce
2½ cups beef broth
2 TBs fresh thyme leaves
1 – 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
salt and pepper
Mashed Potatoes
3 – 4 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
2 TBs butter
¼ – ½ cup heavy cream
7 oz Irish cheddar, grated
garlic salt, to taste
Instructions
Make the Mashed Potatoes
Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water and a generous sprinkling of salt. Place over a medium-high flame and partially cover. Once the water comes to a boil, cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary, or until the potatoes fall easily crumble when poked with a fork. Drain the water and return the potatoes to the pot. Add the butter, ¼ cup cream, the cheddar cheese, and a sprinkling of garlic salt. Using a hand mixer or potato mashers, blend the potatoes until smooth. Add additional cream as needed to create a smooth consistency. Taste and add additional garlic salt as desired. Set aside.
Make the Filling
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and lightly spray with nonstick spray. When hot, work in batches to sear the lamb shoulder chunks, ensuring that you do not cook the meat through (you’re looking for a very light brown on all sides and then immediately remove the meat from the pan). Repeat with the remaining chunks of lamb and set aside in a bowl.
Add the onions, stirring immediately to scrape up any browned bits. Cook for about 3 minutes until just starting to brown. Add the ground lamb and cook until browned through, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic cloves and tomato paste, stirring to thoroughly combine the tomato paste with the meat and onions. Sprinkle the top with flour and stir to fully saturate the flour. Slowly pour in the beef broth, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire sauce and steak sauce. Bring to a light simmer and return the lamb chunk back to the pan with any liquids. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Let simmer on low while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake
In a baking dish about 9” x 13”, layer the peas and carrots on the bottom. Add the fresh thyme to the saucepan and stir to combine. Pour the lamb and gravy over the top of the peas and carrots. Dollop the mashed potatoes over the top of the lamb and gravy, using the back of a spoon to smooth over the top.
Place the baking dish on the middle rack with either aluminum foil or a baking sheet on a rack below to catch any drippings. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Keywords: shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, lamb shepherd’s pie, traditional shepherd’s pie, how to make shepherd’s pie, shepherd’s pie with a cheese topping
