Home › Recipes › Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie
Savory ground lamb and vegetables in a rich gravy, topped with buttery mashed potatoes and baked until golden.
Ingredients
| Volume | Grams |
|---|---|
| Potato topping | |
| 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks | 907 g |
| 4 tbsp unsalted butter | 56 g |
| 1/2 cup milk, warm | 114 g |
| 1 tsp table salt | 6 g |
| Filling | |
| 1 tbsp olive oil | 12.5 g |
| 1 medium onion, diced | — |
| 2 carrots, diced | — |
| 1 1/2 lb ground lamb, or ground beef for cottage pie | 680 g |
| 2 tbsp tomato paste | — |
| 2 tbsp all-purpose flour | 15 g |
| 1 cup beef broth | — |
| 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce | — |
| 1 tsp dried thyme | — |
| 1/2 tsp table salt | 3 g |
| 1 cup frozen peas | — |
Gram weights use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; amounts given in lb or oz are converted by weight (1 lb = 453.6 g, 1 oz = 28.35 g); “—” means the ingredient isn’t on the chart, so measure it by volume or count. Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling, or better, weigh it.
Method
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash with the butter, warm milk and salt.
- Heat the oven to 400 °F. Warm the oil in a large skillet and cook the onion and carrots until softened, about 6 minutes.
- Add the lamb and cook, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Spoon off excess fat.
- Stir in the tomato paste and flour for 1 minute, then add the broth, Worcestershire, thyme and salt. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes, then stir in the peas.
- Spread the filling in the baking dish and cover with the mashed potatoes, roughing up the top with a fork.
- Bake 25–30 minutes, until the filling bubbles at the edges and the potato peaks are browned.
Tips
- Made with beef, the same dish is called cottage pie.
- For extra-crisp peaks, broil for the last 2 minutes and watch closely.
Baking at elevation? See high-altitude adjustments. Different pan? Try the pan size converter.