My Take On Shepherd’s Pie.

One of the most requested recipes I get over at CaribbeanPot.com is for a Caribbean version of Shepherd’s pie. While most people associate Shepherd’s pie with the Irish, I can safely say that it’s made and enjoyed throughout the Caribbean. However you’ll see some subtle differences, taking our culinary culture into mind (our love for herbs and spices). You’ll also note that I used ground beef rather than lamb (the classic way.. see my note below about Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie) in this recipe, which is due to the insane cost of ground lamb and the fact that I’m not a huge fan of lamb.

Note: for a bit more body and depth of flavor I usually use half beef broth and half Guinness when cooking off the meat.

Ingredients

1.5 lb ground beef (traditionally you’d use lamb)
1 medium onion (diced)
4 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/5 cups beef broth
1 carrot (cubed)
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 stalk celery (diced)
2 scallions (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mashed Potato topping
6-8 large potatoes (Yukon Gold)
1 cup milk
salt
black pepper
3 tablespoon butter
* grated white cheddar (optional)

• brown the ground beef in a wide pan (I used a non stick pan so I didn’t need to add any oil) on a med/high flame – break up the meat as it cooks
• drain excess fat, then add the onion, scallions, thyme, parsley, celery, black pepper, allspice and salt. Cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes
• add the tomato paste and stir well
• now go in with the carrots and Worcestershire sauce.. cook for another 2-3 minutes
• turn up the heat and add the beef broth – bring to a rolling boil, uncovered
• cook for 25 mins or until all the liquid is gone and you have an intense flavored base for your shepherd’s pie
• boil your potato in salted water – drain and mash until smooth with the butter, milk and black pepper
• add grated white cheddar to the mashed potato or sliced scallions if you wish to add a bit more flavor
• heat your oven at 375
• spread the ground beef mixture on the bottom of your baking dish, then drop in mounds of the mashed potato and smooth with the back of your fork
• into the oven for 25-30 minutes.. until it gets a bit golden and you see the sides bubbling through with all the beef (or lamb) goodness
• allow it to cool for about 8-10 minutes before cutting though so it holds it’s shape
• BTW do remember to remove the sprigs (from the thyme) before assembling the pie before going into the oven

In early cookery books, the dish (cottage pie) 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.Folk etymology has led to the term “shepherd’s pie” being used when the meat is lamb,as shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle