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© Scalloped Potatoes

My Mom really wasn’t one of those people who love cooking, but she was a very good cook nonetheless. One of the dishes she was famous for was her scalloped potatoes. They were voluptuous comfort food at its best. Thinly sliced potatoes and onion nestled in amongst a rich, creamy sauce that seemed to make itself. Mom never wrote her recipe down, because she maintained it was “hardly a recipe” but she talked me through it many, many times. Despite this, I never really quite got the hang of it, and my scalloped potatoes were always either too runny or not creamy enough. They certainly never tasted remotely like hers, so I kind of gave up.

It was not until about a week ago that I tried her recipe again as part of my Family Food History and Recipe Project. Perhaps it is because I am a more experienced cook than I was all those years ago, but suddenly, this time I got much closer to the wonderful dish I remember after only a couple attempts. I’m not sure it’s Mom’s exact recipe, but it sure does taste very similar.

Scalloped potatoes are a wonderfully easy dish (I honestly don’t know why I struggled so with them before) and they are a great one to make ahead. I use my oval Le Creuset casserole for this. Preheat your oven to about 200℃ or 400℉ and then all you need is:-

3 to 4 large potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 large mild onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 generous tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon of cold butter, cut in small pieces
2 cups of milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Put a layer of potato slices on the bottom of the casserole, overlapping slightly. Follow with a layer of onion slices. Sprinkle evenly with one generous tablespoon of flour.

Make another layer of potato slices on top of the flour, again overlapping slightly. Follow with another layer of onion slices. Sprinkle evenly with one generous tablespoon of flour.

Top the flour with a final layer of potato slices, being sure to overlap them slightly. Evenly distribute the pieces of cold butter over top of the potato. At this point, it should look like this:-



Heat the 2 cups of milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until warm. (I usually microwave on high for two minutes.) Stir in the salt and pepper. Carefully pour the hot milk over the potato and onion layers.

Cover the casserole with foil and put in the oven for half an hour. Remove the casserole from the oven, and remove the foil. Using a fork, carefully push the potato slices so that they are mostly under the milk. Return the casserole to the oven and cook for another thirty to forty minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the top is turning golden brown.

Le Creuset Giveaway - and Luxury Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie is a great dish for this time of year, not least of all because you can make it ahead and reheat it. I often make two at a time and freeze one so I have a delicious and easy meal tucked away for busy days. I make lots of different variations on my recipe, but this version is just that little bit extra-special as it contains Madeira, a fortified wine. One of my favourite casserole dishes to use for my Cottage Pies is my Le Creuset oval casserole dish pictured above. It’s a brilliant oven to tableware dish that is also fridge and freezer safe. I own a number of Le Creuset products and they are a brand I trust and use regularly. And the great news is that the generous folks at Cookware.com



have offered to send one of these very useful Le Creuset oval casserole dishes to a reader in the United States or Canada. (Sadly they only ship to North American addresses.) If you click here you can see a Le Creuset dish like the one Cookware.com are giving away. In return they have asked me to mention their new line of Paula Deen Cookware, which looks really interesting. I saw Paula’s products at her very famous shop in Savannah and they were definitely very covetable! For a chance to win the Le Creuset dish, send an email to april@21stcenturyhousewife.com with the words Le Creuset Giveaway in the subject line and I will enter you into the draw - closing date is Sunday 10th January. Remember you have to have an address in the continental US or Canada to enter as the prize is being shipped direct from Cookware.com.

Here is the cottage pie I made the other night, with its lovely gravy peeking up around the edges:-



and here is the recipe!

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Luxury Cottage Pie
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 pound of ground beef
1 generous tablespoon flour
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks
(if you don’t like parsnips, just use an extra potato)
3 tablespoons butter
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
about 1 cup beef stock
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Madeira (or dry sherry if you do not have any Madeira to hand)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, and sauté the onions gently over low heat until they are beginning to soften. Add the beef. Break up any large chunks with a spatula or spoon and brown, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes and parsnips in a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for about ten minutes until the potatoes and parsnips have softened. Drain and return to the saucepan. Mash with the butter. Add the cream gradually, continuing to mash, until the potatoes and parsnips are moistened, but still have a fairly firm consistency. Cover and set aside.

When the beef is nearly cooked through, sprinkle with the flour and stir it through. Allow to cook for about a minute. Gradually add the stock, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the ketchup, Madeira and Worcestershire sauce and stir in. Bring to the boil, and allow to bubble away merrily for about five minutes so the gravy can reduce a bit, stirring occasionally so the mixture doesn’t stick. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture appears to thick, add a bit more stock, but be careful not to add too much.

Put the beef mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish. Carefully dollop the potato and parsnip mixture on top with a spoon. Gently spread the mixture over the beef using a fork, covering it right up to the edges. (The Shepherd’s Pie can be cooled at this point and refrigerated or frozen for another day.)

Bake the Cottage Pie at 350℉ or 175℃ for about 20 minutes or until the potato is beginning to turn golden. (If you have made the pie a day or so earlier and taken it from the fridge, you will need to heat it at about 375℉ or 190℃ for about 30 to 40 minutes or until heated through. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then cook as for from the fridge.

Incidentally, if you are wondering why this is called Cottage Pie and not Shepherd’s Pie it is because Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb and Cottage Pie is made with beef. And yes, there is absolutely no reason why you could not use ground lamb in this recipe and call it Shepherd’s Pie :)

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

* Cookware.com have not reimbursed me for this post in any way, except for providing the Le Creuset dish for the giveaway, which will be shipped to the winner directly from them.

In Praise of Potatoes

The American author of 'Little Women', Louisa May Alcott said, "Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes".

I’m not sure why I am thinking so much about potatoes these days. Perhaps it is the cooler weather and the nights drawing in. They are the epitome of comfort food. It is funny we see them that way because back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they were rather looked down on. A British journalist of the time, William Cobbett, wrote, "As food for cattle, sheep or hogs, this is the worst of all the green and root crops; but of this I have said enough before; and therefore, I now dismiss the Potato with the hope, that I shall never again have to write the word, or see the thing." In 1783 French author Legrande d'Aussy wrote “The pasty taste, the natural insipidity, the unhealthy quality of (the potato), which is flatulent and indigestible, has caused it to be rejected from refined households and returned to the people, whose coarse palates and stronger stomachs are satisfied with anything capable of appeasing hunger." Ouch. Poor potatoes. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been much kinder to them. Everyone seems to love them. I mean, imagine a world without potatoes. No chips or French fries, no fluffy baked potato interiors to smother in butter or sour cream and dive into with your fork, no comforting plate of mashed potatoes on a cold day...It just doesn't bear thinking about.

I’m not that big a fan of cooking potatoes actually. I really hate peeling them, which is lazy I know, but it’s the truth. Having said that I do love how they taste, and my family love them too, especially the mashed variety, their absolute favourite. In addition to copious quantities of these, I like cooking small new potatoes as – oh joy! - these do not require peeling. Baked potatoes are good for this reason as well actually.

One thing I do love about potatoes is the many wonderful things you can do with the leftovers. In fact, just like with roasts of beef, I often cook more of them than I need just to ensure I have some.

Leftover new potatoes can become a wonderful salad, or be re-warmed and mashed with a fork, some melted butter and a bit of salt and pepper for a delicious variation on mashed potatoes. My latest craze is roasting new potatoes in the oven. It could not be easier. Simply pop heat some olive oil on a roasting pan in the oven. Put some washed and dried new potatoes on it, carefully rolling them in the hot oil with a spoon or fish slice. Roast for about 40 minutes, turning once. I have served these with roast beef to rave reviews. If I have any leftovers, I use them to make this delicious twist on traditional potato salad.


The 21st Century Housewife’s© Roast Potato Salad

Small bowl of leftover roast small new potatoes, cooled and cut in half
3 or 4 tablespoons of your favourite mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s Extra Light)
4 or 5 chopped spring onions (scallions)
1 red pepper, very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a medium bowl and add the spring onions, red pepper and oregano. Starting with about 3 tablespoons, stir in the mayonnaise. You want the potatoes to be dressed nicely, but not too heavily. Add a bit more if needed, but go carefully. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for two or three hours before using so the flavours can blend together. Stir before serving and enjoy.

Now, if you have any baked potatoes left over that have not been cut into, let them cool and then slice them in thin slices. Shallow fry them in hot oil (turning only once if possible) until golden brown. Serve these gorgeous crunchy mouthfuls sprinkled with salt and pepper alongside just about anything.

As for leftover mashed potatoes, of course they can be reheated, but one of my favourite things to do with them is to make potato pancakes. These are wonderful for brunch, served alongside crispy bacon and fried eggs, as a side dish with fish or even as a snack on their own.


The 21st Century Housewife’s© Easy Potato Pancakes
To make 5 to 6 pancakes you need:-

About 1 to 1 ½ cups leftover mashed potatoes, cooled
1 egg
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried or fresh parsley
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

Beat the egg and add the dehydrated onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes and stir with a fork to mix. Set aside and allow to rest for about ten minutes.

Shape the mixture into small pancakes, about two to three inches in diameter. Place on a plate. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan until it is very hot.

Fry the pancakes for about two minutes on each side. Try to only turn them once as they can be delicate.

As tempting as it is, don’t eat these straight out of the frying pan. Allow to cool just a bit before serving so as not to burn your mouth!

Using up leftovers is so important these days and with potatoes, it couldn't be easier. Try out some of these ideas and you will find that being economical and environmentally friendly was never more delicious!

Parsnip, Potato and Leek Gratin

Autumn is a capricious season. One day it’s crisp and colourful with the leaves a spectacular display of gorgeousness, the next it is damp, bone chilling and grey, making you want to go and hide under the duvet. As the nights draw in, I crave warming, delicious food that not only tastes good, but also fills the house with wonderful smells so that as soon as you walk in the door you are enveloped by comfort and cosiness.

For this reason, I've always made a lot of gratin dishes in the Autumn months. They are always well received and they are also easy on the cook. There is a fair bit of slicing involved, but after that it is pretty much an assembly job. They are also easy to cook – you simply put them in a low oven for an hour or so and voila, dinner! Easy on the pocket in these days of economic meltdown, gratins hold beautifully in the oven if everyone is eating at different times on busy Autumn evenings. 

I was keen to incorporate some vegetables from my organic veg box in my gratin this week so decided to experiment with parsnips and leeks.  The results were delicious.  You do need a bit less liquid when you are making this sort of a gratin as parsnips and leeks release some of their own liquid during cooking.  (Be sure to drain the leeks well after you wash them as the last thing you want is watery gratin.)   I always use half fat (2%) milk for health reasons, but if you wanted a richer dish you could use full cream milk instead.  I recommend using cheddar cheese in this dish as its strong flavour really compliments the root vegetables.  In fact, this is an ideal dish for vegetarians, provided you use a vegetarian cheddar. The recipe that follows can be a meal in its entirety; simply add a little something green and crisp on the side. It could not be easier to prepare, and it is absolute heaven to eat. However, if for you potatoes will never be more than a side dish, this gratin is equally delicious as a partner to any meat or fish.
 
1 – 2  large baking potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and thinly sliced
4 medium leeks, washed, drained and very thinly sliced
5 large (or 7 medium) parsnips, washed, peeled and thinly sliced
2 vegetable stock cubes
2 handful of bread crumbs
3 handfuls grated cheddar cheese
2 ½ cups (that is roughly a pint, or 600 ml) milk
 
Prepare the vegetables.  Mix together the bread crumbs and cheddar cheese in a medium size bowl.  Finely crumble the stock cubes into this mixture and stir to combine. 
 
In a large casserole dish, begin to layer the gratin.  Start with a thin layer of potatoes, then of parsnips and then leeks.  Sprinkle with one third of the cheesy breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with another layer of potatoes, parsnips and leeks and again sprinkle with one third of the cheesy breadcrumbs.  

For the third layer of vegetables, reverse the layering order and start with the parsnips. Follow with the leeks and finish with a layer of potatoes.  Do not sprinkle the last portion of breadcrumb mixture over top just yet.
 
Heat the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave until it is just warm (not boiling).  Pour the milk over the gratin.  Now sprinkle the last one third of the cheesy breadcrumb mixture over the top of the gratin.  Bake at 170ºC ( about 350ºF) for about an hour and a half. The gratin is done when the vegetables are tender (a good way to check this is to insert a dinner knife in the gratin - it should slide in really easily) and and the top is golden brown.

Cool any leftovers quickly. They will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator and are delicious rewarmed. Be sure to reheat until piping hot.