Shepherd’s Pie From Scratch (Cottage Pie)

It’s the time of year where Irish foods tend to grace tables across the United States. Corned Beef and cabbage are great, but a dish you see throughout the year is ye ol’ Shepherd’s Pie. It’s a comfort food staple. I prefer to make mine from scratch. I keep it simple, and love to use shredded beef in lieu of ground beef. It is warm, inviting, and delicious. A grand salute to the Irish!

Ingredients

Meat Filling: 
1 lb shredded beef, cooked

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, diced 
1/4 cup flour 
2 cups beef broth 
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 
Salt and Pepper to taste 

Vegetable Layer: 
2 lbs Fresh Green Beans, trimmed and snapped in half
1 cup frozen Corn Kernels 
1/4 tsp oregano 

Mashed Potatoes: 
4 Potatoes, peeled and cubed 
1/4 cup butter 
1/4 cup cream cheese 
1/4 tsp salt 

Shredded Cheddar Cheese to top.


Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes until soft, 15-20 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, steam the green beans until soft, 10-15 minutes. Add in the corn kernals during the last few minutes of cooking. 

3. Also meanwhile (this is a multi-tasking dish), saute your onion  in 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the flour and stir until mixed enough that you can’t see the flour (this will allow the sauce to thicken without the flour clumping). Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens. 

4. By this point the potatoes should be done. Mash them up and mix in the butter, cream cheese, and salt until everything is melted and fluffy. Use a hand mixer to easily whip it until it is fluffy. 

5. Mix the green beans and corn with the oregano.

6. In 9 x 13 pan put your Pie together. Bottom: meat, Middle: vegetables, Top: Potatoes. Top with cheese. 

7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes., until cheese is warm and bubbly. 

Oh the terminology of Shepherd’s Pie vs. Cottage Pie. There are some strong opinions out there. Let’s check out what wikipedia has to say on it.

“The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (“cottage” meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers).

In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top.

The term “shepherd’s pie” did not appear until 1877, and since then it has been used synonymously with “cottage pie”, regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton. More recently, the term “shepherd’s pie” has been used when the meat is lamb, the theory being that shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle.”

I don’t subscribe to these recent frivolous definitions of Shepherd’s vs. Cottage. I go by what my family has historically referred to it. Whether I make it with lamb, beef, pork, or chicken I’d still call it a Shepherd’s Pie. 

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