I had watched Nigella's Christmas Bites during Christmas where she had made a scrumptious Shepherd's Pie using minced venison and pork. I picked up a couple of tips from her for this recipe, one of them is to use part pork to make the pie juicier and the other is to simmer the meat for an hour. I've made Shepherd's Pie previously using minced beef meat and another time chicken meat. Urrgghhh the meat turned out tough on both occasions. So with these 2 information, I confidently set out to make my third pie. Traditionally Shepherd's Pie is made of minced lamb but this time, I made one using minced beef and pork.
I guesstimate my way as usual, so I had a portion minced beef and equal amount of minced lean pork, some sliced button mushrooms, chopped carrots, chopped leek, chopped celery and some chopped onions. I marinade the meat together with some Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce and corn flour(very Asian of me huh? haha).
In a pot, heat up some olive oil and fry some chopped garlic and onion till fragrant before putting in the meat. Brown the meat thoroughly and add in carrots, leek and celery. Stir a bit and break up the meat pieces in the process. Add in some salt and black pepper to taste. Pour in water enough to cover the meat up. Season with more Worcestershire sauce. Add in one bay leaf; some dried basil and oregano; and the sliced mushrooms. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour on low heat.
Meanwhile prepare the usual mash potatoes and add in butter and some hot milk for a fluffy mash. When the meat is ready, pour into baking dish and top with the mash potatoes. Another tip I learnt from Nigella was to fluff up the mash with a fork to have some peaks all over in order to have some browned crispy bits. Dot the mash with butter all over. Bake in the oven till the mash is browned.
I'm very satisfied with this version... finally got the combination right, more or less. Best served hot and I have to put this pie under Kiddy Menu as this is one of the best dish to hide all sorts of vegetables from fussy eaters. My boiboi, a mash potatoes lover, walloped two servings and stole more mash from my plate! Cheeky lil fella there.
Technorati Tags: Shepherd's Pie + nigella lawson + kiddy menu
Dear with beef it's called Cottage Pie not Sheapard's Pie :)
ReplyDeletethanks for correcting, ST
ReplyDeleteCottage Pie/Shepherds Pie...As far as I'm concerned, if it tastes good, it's just a name. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, we've made a shepherd/cottage pie with lamb and beef before.
It's true though, Pork does sweeten it up a lot. From what I understand, they traditionally used minced lamb. Hence "Shepherd."
Nigel
ST beat me to the Cottage Pie quip. I made two versions before, with beef and lamb. Personally I prefer the lamb version as it's got a richness to the taste vs the beef. Try Delia's recipe, excellent all the time.
ReplyDeleteooo look who dropped by!!! nigel of just heavenly, OMG! haha... thanks for coming by
ReplyDeleteanother potatoes lover eh, jackson?
it's good to correct us, non-brits or those not familiar with true english cuisine. thanks boo_licious. hubby don't really fancy lamb cos he's afraid of the gamey smell. maybe will try one day though.
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ReplyDeleteThis is the few things my fussy son will eat. But of course I will make the halal versionlah. The lamb in Australia doesnt have the gamey smell like the one in Malaysia. Dont know why thought. But I found the beef here smell stronger beefy smell. I heard it from somewhere that you can add a little bit of sour cream to make your cottage pie less dry. Never tried it before.
ReplyDeletehmm maybe i dunno where to buy non-gamey smell lamb/mutton. thanks flower for the tip.
ReplyDeletewhatever its called, this looks so good.. man, am hungry now! :)
ReplyDeletehye...
ReplyDeletejust browsing arnd and saw ur advice in the klue site..btw, all the food here looked so wickedly delicious..wanna try it but of coz wif halal meat la..
thanx 4 the tips lol...:D