My Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is a British classic. It was traditionally made with lamb, leftover from the Sunday roast and ground into fine pieces. The meat was then mixed with gravy, and maybe some vegetables, topped with fluffy mashed potato and baked. If you had beef for your Sunday roast, you did the same thing but called it Cottage Pie.

Over the years this dish has evolved, and many people now make it from scratch using raw ground lamb or beef as well as the traditional way. Vegetarians use vegetarian mince products like Quorn, or those made from soy or textured vegetable protein.

It’s a great go-to meal to have on hand, and you can even make it ahead and reheat it the next day - or freeze it if you prefer. At one point my mother-in-law was running three homes in three different countries (England, France and Spain), and whichever one you visited, there was always a healthy stock of her homemade shepherd’s pies in the freezer.

In our house, we call it Shepherd’s Pie whatever meat (or vegetable product) I  use to make it, although it is generally pasture raised or free range ground beef that I use. Although it isn’t strictly correct to call it this, it works for us, and is a nod to my son’s cute name for the dish when he was a little boy. He used to refer to any potato topped meat dish as ‘Shepson Pie’.

It really doesn’t take long to make, although if you do have time to let the meat simmer before you bake it in the oven, it does make it taste even better. It’s a fantastic meal to just pop on the table and let folks help themselves to country style, although I always make more than I think I need when I am serving a crowd as everyone always seems to want seconds.

One twist on the traditional I do use pretty regularly when parsnips are in season is to mash some of them with the potatoes. We love parsnips in our house and it gives this dish a gorgeous flavour. However if you don’t have any parsnips, or your family doesn’t love them like we do, just use an extra potato.

To serve about four people you need:-

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 pound ground beef (pasture raised or free range is best)

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

½ cup beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

about an eighth of a teaspoon of pepper

1 bay leaf

For the mash:-

2 to 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into about four pieces each

2 to 3 parsnips, peeled and chopped

generous tablespoon of butter

about ¼ cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375℉ or about 170℃. You’ll need an oven safe casserole dish to bake this mixture in. The shape doesn’t matter all that much, but it needs to be fairly deep.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and gently fry the onion until it just begins to soften, but not brown. Stir in the ground beef and brown it, breaking up any larger chunks.

Stir in the carrots, beef stock, tomato paste, pepper and the bay leaf. Cover and simmer over low heat for at least ten minutes or for up to half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes and parsnips (if using) in boiling salted water until they are soft enough to mash. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. You may need a little more or less milk depending on the texture of the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the bay leaf from the simmering ground beef mixture and transfer it to an oven safe casserole.

Carefully, a spoonful at a time, begin to cover the mixture with mashed potato and parsnip. You need to be careful the spoonfuls are not too large or they will sink into the mixture.

When the ground beef mixture is completely covered in the mashed potatoe mixture, run over the top with a fork. This also gives little peaks and troughs which brown up nicely.

You may want to put the casserole dish on a baking sheet as the meat mixture sometimes bubbles through the potato topping when the Shepherd’s Pie is cooking and can mess up the bottom of your oven.

Bake in the oven for about half an hour, until the topping is beginning to turn golden brown. The edges usually get toasty and the meat mixture will definitely try to bubble through, but what this dish lacks in beauty it makes up for in taste!

You can serve this straight from the oven, but take care as it will be molten hot. If you are making this ahead, cool it down before storing in the fridge. Reheat for about half an hour or until piping hot throughout.

If freezing, wrap well in Saran Wrap and aluminum foil when cold. Thaw overnight in the fridge before heating in the oven for about forty to fifty minutes or until piping hot.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Beef and Shallot Bourguignon

This recipe really isn’t difficult to put together, and it is a great one for company. You need to use the kind of beef you cook long and slow for it. It’s always cheaper so that helps to keep costs down while still producing something really delicious. I find all the terms for beef that you need to cook long and slow vary wildly between countries, but here it is called braising steak, stewing beef or chuck steak. You know what I mean :)

Two little hints - be sure to use a good wine and don’t leave out the celery!  Good wine does not have to be expensive anymore, just be sure to always cook with a wine you are happy to drink. (It’s lovely to be able to serve the remainder of the bottle with the meal.)   Beef Bourguignon is traditionally made with a full bodied wine such as Burgundy, but I have also had great results with cheaper Cabernet Sauvignon blends and Shiraz.  As long as it is red and reasonably full bodied and tasty, it’s fine. As for the celery, I recommend you leave the sticks whole and remove them before you eat but please do not leave it out as it adds the most gorgeous flavour – not celery-like at all, just a lovely fresh taste. (My husband hates celery, but he loves my this which I always make with it!)

I use a Le Creuset casserole for this as it can be used on the stove top first and then go into the oven.  If you do not have an oven safe casserole you can use on the stove top, just do the first few steps in frying pan with a lid and then transfer the meaty mixture to an oven safe casserole before you add the vegetables. 

Although the recipe sounds boozy with the brandy and the red wine, the vast majority of the alcohol cooks off and leaves only a fabulous flavour, so folks are pretty unlikely to get tipsy from eating this! This is wonderful served with crispy roast potatoes, mashed potatoes or rice (I even served it with couscous once), so you can make whatever you like best!

If there are leftovers this is wonderful if you refrigerate it and re-heated it the following day - or make it the day ahead on purpose so you can spend lots of time with your guests. This will serve four, but it’s really easy to double it if you have lots of folks coming for dinner.
  
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound of braising steak, chuck steak or stewing beef, cut in pieces about an inch square (just roughly)
1 cup of chopped bacon or bacon ‘lardons’ (pre-chopped bits of bacon)
about 20 shallots, peeled, cut in half if they are on the big side
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup brandy
½ to 1 cup beef stock
¾ cup (6 ounces) good red wine
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons thyme
2 - 3 sticks of celery left whole
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stove top to oven casserole with a lid.

Place the flour in a small bowl and dredge the pieces of beef in the flour. Add them to the casserole and fry gently, stirring so that they brown on all sides. When they are just about browned, add the bacon, and cook for about two or three minutes before adding the shallots. Get the shallots all coated in the oily bacony juices, and then pour the brandy over top.

Working quickly but very carefully, flambé the casserole by putting a lighted match near the casserole. The alcohol in the brandy should ignite. Allow it to flame for a few seconds and then put the lid on to extinguish any remaining flames. (Always keep the lid nearby when doing this so you can put out the flames quickly if you need to. I like to wear an oven mitt on the hand holding the lid as well.) After a few seconds, take the lid off the pan and add the wine and 1/2 cup of the beef stock. Grate the garlic into the casserole, and add the celery, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cover. (If using a frying pan, please transfer the mixture to an oven safe casserole now.)

Place the casserole in the oven for about 1½ - 2 hours on a low heat.  I suggest 325℉ (160℃).  Every oven is different though so go carefully because it is the long slow cooking that makes this casserole so delicious. Check and stir every half hour, adding a bit more beef stock if necessary.

The Beef Bourguignon is ready to serve when the beef is fork tender.  Just remove the celery, give it a stir and you are all set to go! This is lovely served with mashed potatoes or rice, but my favourite accompaniment is crispy roast potatoes and a nice green vegetable like broccoli.
 

The 21st Century Housewife's© Leek, Beef and Beer Stew with Carrot and Parsnip Mash

This is a gorgeous, warming stew for a blustery winter’s evening. The carrot and parsnip mash gives a lovely hit of color alongside the stew, and it’s a great way to get your antioxidants this time of year.

This recipe will serve four, but don’t worry if there are only two of you, the leftovers taste lovely if you cool them quickly, store in the fridge and re-heat thoroughly the next day!

For the stew:-
2 tablespoons butter
3 or 4 leeks, washed and sliced in thin slices
about 500 grams of chuck steak, cut in chunks
275 ml bottle lager beer (I use Coors light)
250 ml beef stock (ready-made or from a cube is fine)
1 bay leaf
1 generous spoonful of red pesto or tomato paste (tomato puree in the UK)
150 grams orzo

For the mash:-
3 – 4 carrots, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
3 parsnips, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350℉ or 170℃.

In a large stove top to oven safe pan /casserole dish with a lid (I use a large shallow one by Le Creuset but a deeper one will work just as well), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leaks and fry for a few minutes until they are beginning to soften. Stir in the beef and cook until browned, stirring pretty much constantly.

Pour in the lager and the beef stock. Bring the mixture to the boil. Stir in the bay leaf and the red pesto or tomato paste.

Put the lid on the casserole and carefully put in the oven. Cook for an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring once after about forty minutes. If it looks like it is cooking too quickly, lower the heat a bit.

When there are about ten minutes left to go, steam the carrots and parsnips on the stove-top until tender. Drain and mash with the butter and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside to keep warm, or place in a covered casserole dish in a low oven.

Remove the stew from the oven and place the casserole on a heat-proof surface. Add the orzo and stir. There should still be a fair amount of liquid in the stew, but if not, add a bit of boiling water just so the orzo has liquid to absorb. Stir again.

Cover the casserole and return to the oven for ten minutes. Remove once again and check the liquid level. If it has all been absorbed, add a tiny bit more boiling water (only a little!). Return the casserole the oven for five to ten minutes more. At this point, the orzo should be tender and most of the liquid should be absorbed.

Serve the stew and mash with some warmed crusty rolls.

By the way, it is easy to make vegetable mashes and they are a healthy alternative to mashed potatoes served with just about anything. As well as carrot and parsnip mash, you could try parsnip and turnip (swede in the UK) or butternut squash and sweet potato. Just steam the vegetables and mash with butter and seasoning as above.