Michelle and I love comfort food. Ever since I found out about Shepherd’s Pie while watching our favorite foodie TV shows, I’ve been dying to make it myself. 
I’ve watched Chef Gordon Ramsay‘s version of making Shepherd’s Pie on Youtube and he actually made it very easy (the video after the jump). Shepherd’s Pie is actually made of minced lamb. And since lamb is rarely available and usually expensive here in the Philippines, I tried using beef mince for this recipe I’ll be sharing today. So, technically I made a Cottage Pie. Both Cottage and Shepherd’s Pies don’t have bottom pastry crusts unlike standard pies. They are actually traditionally made with leftover roast meat, but, are now often made with ground meat, mostly beef or lamb, and topped with mashed potato.
Now, here’s my recipe for making my own version of Cottage Pie. You can replace the beef with lamb, if you have that available, to make Shepherd’s Pie instead.
Cottage Pie
For Minced Beef:
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 1/2 kilo ground / minced beef
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 medium-sized onion, grated
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Tomato Paste
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Chicken Stock (I used Knorr Chicken Cubes dissolved in warm water.)
For Mashed Potato:
Ingredients:
- 3 medium-sized Potatoes, peeled
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt and pepper
- Cheese
Procedure: Preparing the minced beef
1. In a hot pan, add olive oil and sauté the ground beef. Note: If the ground beef has too much fat, you can skip the olive oil and just brown the beef directly on the pan. Season it with salt and pepper.
2. Add grated onion & carrots. Mix well, then, add grated garlic.
3. Add about 1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce and about a tbsp. of tomato paste.
4. Add a pinch of thyme and rosemary. Adjust this to your liking.
Note: I used dried thyme and rosemary, one that you can buy at grocery store. I personally use McCormick products, but, any will do.
5. Finally, add about a cup of chicken stock. Mix well. Then, set aside.
Preparing the mashed potatoes:
1. Boil the peeled potatoes. Mash, then, add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add 2 egg yolks and cheese to the mashed potatoes. I just used regular cheese since parmesan is too expensive. I made 2 batches of Cottage Pies and I used Quez-O cheese, then, Eden cheese. Both turned out yummy. But, if you have parmesan cheese available the better.
Preparing the Cottage Pie
1. Place cooked minced beef mixture in an oven-safe bowl. We used our soufflé bowls, which we bought from Living Well at SM Mall of Asia.
2. Top the minced beef with mashed potatoes.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top. Roughen up the top with a fork.
4. Cook in a hot oven for about 20-30 minutes until top is golden brown.
That’s it! This recipe serves 4-8 persons, depending on their appetite. 😀
Shepherd’s Pie… errr Cottage Pie done! (lolz)
That’s an interesting turnout! the greatest dishes are made by accidents, and risk perhaps 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
that looks really yummy…and you make it look so easy to prepare!
i have always wondered what’s the diff between the cottage and shepherd’s pie…lol 😀
thanks for sharing! 🙂
I love Gordon Ramsey.
… this looks quite easy to do, too bad we don’t have oven, would like to try sana. 🙁
Thanks for hopping by my FTF post. Happy weekends!
this is a yummy looking shepherds pie….my husband love this dish
looks yummy!
That’s an easy preparation…I might do these some time. I’ll just have to remember some ground beef or lamb…though am not a lamb lover, they have this certain smell that I don’t like. Thanks…
great looking pie 🙂 very nice colors on the cheese
Wow, we just had a shepperd ie last week hehehe, love it!
that looks absolutely delicious! now i feel famished.. Thanks for hopping along and visiting my entry =)
i will try this one;)
aw thanks so much for this.. will definitely try this soon1
bongga dito…kakatakam…thanks for sharing the recipe….yummy!
hi, thanks for this post, serves as my inspiration for last saturday’s kiddy treat. <3
http://clarizze.blogspot.com/2010/09/sunday-treat-hash-beans-and-potato.html
Thanks for sharing, sis! Glad we inspired you in some way and that your kids loved it 🙂
ooopppsss, hope posted my comment right, sowri:)
ok lang kaya sa oven toaster? wala kasing oven talaga.
Yes, it’s okay. Kaso bantayan mo rin kasi baka masunog.
also, can i skip the egg on mashed potatoes?