Shepherd’s Pie by Karen Yee

Shepherd’s Pie by Karen Yee

Filling:

500g ground beef/lamb

½ cup of red wine

½ cup of beef stock or chicken stock

2 tbsp of tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 tsp of Italian herbs

½ garlic pepper or black pepper

1 medium onion diced

3 cloves of garlic bruised

2 carrots chopped to small pieces

2 stalks of celery chopped to small pieces

½ cup fresh parsley chopped

½ grated parmesan or cheddar cheese

Pinch of salt if necessary

Olive oil

Topping:

4 to5 large potatoes

1 knob of butter

A pinch of salt

1 tbsp of milk (add more or less depending on the consistency you prefer for the topping)

1 egg (lightly beaten)

Dried parsley for garnishing

Directions:

Heat up some olive oil. Saute the onions, garlic till fragrant.

Add the carrots and celery and continue to stir fry for about 3 mins.

Add the ground beef or lamb. Stir fry till they just turn brown.

Add the tomato paste, Italian herbs, garlic pepper and bay leaf. Stir in till combined

Add the red wine and let it simmer for about 1 min.

Add the beef/chicken stock. Cover and allow it to simmer till the sauce is cooked down.  Add salt to taste if necessary. I did not have to add salt at all as the beef stock I bought is slightly salted.

Once the sauce has cooked down and thickened, stir in the parsley and turn off the heat. ** We do want some sauce so that the filling will not be too dry after baking.

Allow the beef to cool.

Meantime, prepare the topping. Remove the skin of the potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil them with some salt till they soften.

Drain the water and add the butter and salt and mash the potatoes.

Then add the lightly beaten egg and milk and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Scoop the beef into the individual ramekins, spread some of the grated cheese on top of the beef then spread the mashed potato topping over. Lightly prick the potato topping all over and garnish with some dried parsley.

Bake till the top turns lightly brown.

** You can also bake it in a large casserole.