Post Christmas Shepherds Pie Food

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
• Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

RUDOLPH PIE (CHRISTMAS SHEPHERD'S PIE)

Steps:

• Pour 2 cups of near-boiling water over the dried porcini mushrooms and leave to steep while you get on with the rest of the cooking. Peel the onions, carrots and garlic cloves and chop them; I use a food processor here, and do them in 2 batches of 2 each.
• Pour the oil into a very large, thick-bottomed pan and when it's warm add the chopped onions, carrots and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, sprinkling in salt if the vegetables look as though they might burn.
• Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, chop them coarsely and add them to the vegetable mixture along with the button mushrooms. After about 5 minutes, when the fresh mushrooms have cooked down a bit into the mixture, transfer the vegetables to a plate so that you can start cooking the meat. Add a little more oil to the pan then add the minced meats, breaking them up with a wooden fork or spatula. Stir for about 5 minutes until the rawness has left them a bit, add salt liberally, and then return the vegetable mixture to the pan. Stir in the flour and, still stirring, pour in the mushroom-soaking liquid, tomatoes, tomato paste, Marsala and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Stir well, cover partly with a lid and turn down the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently with some of the liquid evaporating and the flavours intensifying, for about an hour. Even longer wouldn't do it any harm providing the heat is very low.
• Once cooked, taste for seasoning then remove from heat. If it helps you can cook the base in advance (either freezing it or leaving it in the fridge for a few days), which means that when you want to serve the pie, you have only to bother with the topping. Some people are happy to make a shepherd's pie in its entirety and then leaving it to be reheated, but I think that's only OK if you don't need to refrigerate it for days (it does something funny to the texture of the potatoes). An afternoon, even a longer stretch, in a cold wintry kitchen, though, is fine. An easier alternative might be to refrigerate the cooked base and leave the mashed potatoes and parsnips in a plastic wrapped bowl in a cold place in the kitchen for however long you need, bringing the two together just before they go into the oven.
• Given the amount of potatoes stipulated, I suggest you hand people a peeler if you have any around who ask if there's anything they can do to help. Or use a potato ricer, which means you don't need to peel them. Either way, boil the potatoes in a large pan of salted water until they are nearly tender and then add the parsnips which have been peeled and cut into chunks. Simmer until the potatoes and parsnips are cooked to easily mashable tenderness, but not to the point of disintegration, then drain them and let them dry slightly in the colander while you warm the milk and melt the butter in the heat of the pan that you cooked the potatoes in. Rice the potatoes and parsnips straight into this pan (or mash them) and then grate in some fresh nutmeg and add salt to taste.
• Put the meat mixture into a large dish approximately 12 1/2 inches by 14 1/2 inches in size. Then dollop the potato mash on top, spreading with a spatula, taking care to seal the edges to prevent the meat below from bubbling up in the oven. Use a fork to draw lines over the top, then dot with butter and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. If you're cooking this straight away, in other words when everything's still warm, about 10 minutes in a 425 degree F oven should be enough to make it piping hot and golden and crisp on top. If cooking from cold, about an hour in a 375 degree F oven should do it.

GORDON RAMSAY SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Bring a large cast iron skillet, skillet, or frying pan to high heat with the olive oil.
• After the oil is hot, add in the ground lamb. Spread in an even layer and crisp one side, then turn and crisp the bottom side. Break apart the ground lamb after it is browned and crisped. Season the lamb with salt and pepper (use the first portion of salt & pepper, 1 teaspoon of each).
• Add in the onion, garlic, and carrot and cook for about 2-4 minutes till vegetables are soft.
• Pour in the Worcestershire sauce then the tomato puree and combine. Add in the red wine, thyme and rosemary and cook until most of the wine has evaporated off.
• Pour in the chicken stock and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then turn heat off and set aside.
• In a large stockpot cover peeled potatoes with water then boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Drain.
• Mash potatoes either with a fork or a ricer if you have one.
• Season with the remaining salt & pepper.
• Stir in the butter, egg yolks and stir very quickly then add the Parmesan cheese and combine well. (Optional - reserve a few tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese for topping the Shepherds pie)
• Spoon the lamb meat into a casserole dish and then top with the potato. Using a spatula run the potatoes completely over the mince filling in any holes. It should look like a smooth mound.
• Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on the top and then using a fork drag along the top of the potatoes (this will give the potatoes a nice crunchy texture where they get raised by the fork).
• Place in your preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 18-20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow 5-10 minutes to cool before serving.

SHEPHERD'S PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Place chopped potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Cook until potatoes are tender (12-15 minutes), don't overcook potatoes. Drain and mash potatoes in the same pot.
• Add warm cream and 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) then mash until smooth. Lastly, mash in the parmesan cheese and beaten egg.
• Preheat oven to 400˚F with a rack in the center. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and ground beef. Breaking up the beef with a spatula then season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper and cook until meat is just cooked through and no longer pink (5 minutes).
• Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes to soften then add minced garlic and stir another minute.
• Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp flour and stir for 1 minute. You'll see a film form on the bottom of your pan.
• Stir in red wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan for a minute. Add beef broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen veggies and bring to a light boil. Season with another 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or add to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.
• Transfer meat and veggie mixture to a deep pie dish, or 11x7 or 9x9 casserole dish.
• Scoop mashed potatoes over the top then spread evenly, making sure to seal the potatoes to the edge of the dish so the filling doesn't bubble up.
• Drizzle 2 Tbsp melted butter over the top. Place a sheet of foil under the casserole to catch any drips and bake at 400˚F on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes start to turn golden. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

POST CHRISTMAS SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
• Heat the gravy up and then, in a large bowl, combine it with the turkey, vegetables, stuffing, minced onion and sliced chipolatas.
• Turn into a medium-sized lightly greased baking dish.
• Whip the swede, mashed potatoes and beaten egg together with your electric beaters.
• Spread evenly over the turkey/vegetable mixture.
• Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until well heated through, bubbly and lightly browned on top.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
• Delicious!

VEGAN SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the potatoes and garlic in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Season generously with salt and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and then drain the potatoes. Return the potatoes and garlic to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water and the 1/3 cup olive oil and stir to combine. If needed, stir in more water until the potatoes are a spreadable consistency. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set the mashed potatoes aside.
• Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper and cook until all the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste is a bit darker, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, followed by the peas and carrots and bring to a simmer, about 4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, dollop all over with the mashed potatoes and spread the potatoes into an even layer with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Bake until golden on top and bubbling around the edges, about 25 minutes.

THE ULTIMATE MAKEOVER: SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, deep sauté pan or saucepan. Tip in the onion and thyme sprigs and fry for 2-3 mins. Then add the carrots and fry together for 5-8 mins, stirring occasionally until the vegetables start to brown. Stir in the mince to break it down. Fry for 1-2 mins until no longer pink. Stir in the flour, scraping the bottom of the pan in case the meat sticks, then cook for another 1-2 mins. Pour in the stock and stir until thickened. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée, lentils and Worcestershire sauce and season with pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 mins, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Drop all the potatoes into a large pan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 12-15 mins or until the potatoes are tender. Drain well in a colander then tip back into the pan. Mash with a masher or, briefly, with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the crème fraîche and milk with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Spoon the meat into a 1.5 litre pie dish and remove the thyme sprigs. Top with the mash and smooth over with a knife. Use a fork to create a ridged pattern on top. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 mins until piping hot and the filling starts to bubble around the edges. If the top is not brown enough, pop it under the grill for 5 mins or so until the mash is crisp and golden. Let it sit for 5 mins then serve.