Nosh Recipes : Shepherd's/Cottage Pie

I started making this dish back in my early teens and the basis of the recipe is for Shepherd's Pie from "Australia Womens Weekly".
The essential difference between Shepherd's and Cottage pie is ingredients. A shepherd's pie is made with Lamb mince and a Cottage pie is made with beef. Strictly speaking, this would not be considered either a shepherds or cottage pie and is more of a " Rojak Pie"! The methods stay mainly the same i.e pie filling, crusted over with mashed potato and then baked in the oven. I always find it a useful one dish meal to prepare and it seldom fails to please.

The recipe has also altered quite a bit since my teens where I was less health concious and would use a half stick of butter which is closer to the original. The pictures here depict another variant I concocted with what was to hand at the time.

The basic recipe is as follows:

Main Ingredients
dice 4 medium carrots
dice 1 large brown onion
finely chop 1 clove garlic
chicken stock cube or 1 cup chicken stock
1 Bay leaf
few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp wild oregano
white pepper
salt
aprox. 35gms butter
2 tbsp plain flour
olive oil
250gms meat minced
(I find a mix of meats such as Chicken and Pork make for better texture and flavour than just pork , lamb, turkey or beef.)
4-6 potatoes to make a mash
(alternatively use instant mash - more convenient but less flavoursome or nutrient rich)


Method :
Melt butter with a bit of olive oil (This prevents the butter from burning) then saute onions, garlic and carrots together with oregano, thyme, pinch of salt and pepper. When these start to soften and brown, add minced meat and bay leaf. Cook through and sprinkle flour over mixture to combine ingredients.
(In this variation , I have also added mushrooms and tomatoes)


When flour is fully intergrated, add chicken stock (If using stock cube, mix cube with 1 cup hot water first before adding - check seasoning regularly as cubes can be rather salty in itself) Simmer on a low heat till ingredients start to combine and liquor is reduced by half. When done, remove from heat and set aside.

Whilst filling is simmering, you can make the mash simultaneously by boiling up peeled potatoes till they are soft enough to lance easily with a fork.
(In the variation depicted here, I used soft cheese with garlic and herbs in place of adding butter and milk to the mash)



Fill a large oven proof dish with the prepared filling - the flour helps it to combine as a layer. Spoon the mash on top of this and cover the filling with it. You can rake the top of this mash layer into droves - or any other pattern you fancy. I just tend to lump mine on the top without much fuss.








To finish - Bake the pie at 180 deg. for aprox. 30 - 40 minutes
Use an egg wash on the top of the mash to create an appealing glaze and return to oven for a further 15 minutes.

Serve straight from the oven.