My husband is English. His family have always eaten Shepherd’s Pie, well that’s what he tells me.
Me? I hadn’t tried it until I met my husband. It wasn’t long after we started seeing each other. I used to work evenings, and have a dinner break rather than a lunch break. He made Shepherd’s Pie for me to take for my meal at work. I know, right? He’s a TOTAL keeper!!!
Okay, enough reminiscing… back to the present.
The other week, I received an unexpected parcel. I love unexpected parcels. When it’s an unexpected parcel, the kids LOVE to help open it. They opened it and said “Oh. It’s not toys. Boring.”
I looked inside the box… and squealed a little bit.
Pyrex sent me one of their new jugs (with the numbers on the inside) and a baking dish to try out. Score!!!
Little did they know, I am ALREADY a HUGE fan of Pyrex. I absolutely love those dishes with the plastic lids, which can go from freezer to oven.
So anyways, I thought I’d share with you my Mister’s yummy Shepherd’s Pie recipe. He’s added his own twist to it (with hidden vegies for the kids).
I’ll give generic measurements because it will depend on the size of the dish you are using – and the number of people you want to feed.
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Mince meat (beef, but lamb is fine also)
1 carrot
1 onion
2 zucchini
Mushrooms
Gravy Powder
Soy Sauce
1/4 of a butternut pumpkin (any pumpkin will do, but that is the size of pumpkin you will need)
Potatoes
Milk
Butter
Olive oil
Meat Mixture:
1. Finely dice (or grate) the onion, carrot, zucchini and mushrooms.
2. Add a splash of olive oil to the bottom of a pan and cook the onion, zucchini and mushrooms over a low heat to soften.
3. When very soft, add meat and cook until it starts to brown.
4. Add a tablespoon of gravy powder and a few splashes of soy sauce.
5. Let the meat cook through, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be a thick, rich consistency, so add a little water if necessary.
6. Place it into the bottom of the baking dish
Potato/Pumpkin Mixture:
1. Dice potatoes and pumpkin and boil until tender.
2. Add butter and small amount of milk and then mash. The mash shouldn’t be too wet.
Place the layer of potato/pumpkin over the top of the meat mixture.
Make some squiggly lines with a fork.
Brown it in the oven for about 10 mins. Just until the top begins to look slightly toasty and crunchy.
Serve with steamed vegies. Perfect meal for a cold winter evening.
Me? I hadn’t tried it until I met my husband. It wasn’t long after we started seeing each other. I used to work evenings, and have a dinner break rather than a lunch break. He made Shepherd’s Pie for me to take for my meal at work. I know, right? He’s a TOTAL keeper!!!
Okay, enough reminiscing… back to the present.
The other week, I received an unexpected parcel. I love unexpected parcels. When it’s an unexpected parcel, the kids LOVE to help open it. They opened it and said “Oh. It’s not toys. Boring.”
I looked inside the box… and squealed a little bit.
Pyrex sent me one of their new jugs (with the numbers on the inside) and a baking dish to try out. Score!!!
Little did they know, I am ALREADY a HUGE fan of Pyrex. I absolutely love those dishes with the plastic lids, which can go from freezer to oven.
So anyways, I thought I’d share with you my Mister’s yummy Shepherd’s Pie recipe. He’s added his own twist to it (with hidden vegies for the kids).
I’ll give generic measurements because it will depend on the size of the dish you are using – and the number of people you want to feed.
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Mince meat (beef, but lamb is fine also)
1 carrot
1 onion
2 zucchini
Mushrooms
Gravy Powder
Soy Sauce
1/4 of a butternut pumpkin (any pumpkin will do, but that is the size of pumpkin you will need)
Potatoes
Milk
Butter
Olive oil
Meat Mixture:
1. Finely dice (or grate) the onion, carrot, zucchini and mushrooms.
2. Add a splash of olive oil to the bottom of a pan and cook the onion, zucchini and mushrooms over a low heat to soften.
3. When very soft, add meat and cook until it starts to brown.
4. Add a tablespoon of gravy powder and a few splashes of soy sauce.
5. Let the meat cook through, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be a thick, rich consistency, so add a little water if necessary.
6. Place it into the bottom of the baking dish
Potato/Pumpkin Mixture:
1. Dice potatoes and pumpkin and boil until tender.
2. Add butter and small amount of milk and then mash. The mash shouldn’t be too wet.
Place the layer of potato/pumpkin over the top of the meat mixture.
Make some squiggly lines with a fork.
Brown it in the oven for about 10 mins. Just until the top begins to look slightly toasty and crunchy.
Serve with steamed vegies. Perfect meal for a cold winter evening.
Do you like, eat, cook Shepherd’s Pie?
Do you have any Pyrex in your cupboard?
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was under no obligation to post about the Pyrex products I received, but choose to do so, as I have always enjoyed using this brand.
I love Pyrex and I love Shepherds Pie (although to be fair if you add vegetables it is cottage pie :D, unless you are hiding the vegetables I guess!!)
ReplyDeleteWe love Shepherds pie but I add a bit of cheese and breadcrumbs (or crumbed cornflakes) to the top to add a bit of extra crunch. If it is just for us I also use Italian herbs and a bit of Worcestershire sauce to the mix. Will add zucchini to my next mix as this sounds great. Thanks for sharing.
LOL - We’ve had that argument at our house - whether it’s shepherds or cottage pie.
DeleteHe’s made it with kangaroo mince in the past. Very different flavour but still quite yummy. I wasn’t sure what my international friends would think if I mentioned Kangaroo mince in the recipe
Shepherd Pie was a Monday night staple in our house growing up - it followed the obligatory Sunday Lamb roast! There was always a bit of cheese mixed in with the potato and always made in the pyrex roaster (that was used for the lamb roast the night before!)
ReplyDeleteI love Pyrex,I have a few that are over 40 years old which I've sourced from garage sales and I LOVE sheperds pie you just reminded me I haven't made this in a while.....I like to add a dash of bbq sauce as well as worcestershire to the meat mix and a handfull of grated cheese mixed into the potato topping MMmmmm :) Barb.
ReplyDeleteTo add to the shepherds/cottage pie debate either can have veg in usually carrots & onion but shepherds pie is made with lamb only and cottage pie is made from beef. I like the sound of your topping I also sprinkle cheese on top
ReplyDeleteAnd a dash of Worcestershire sauce too, although not sure if you can buy that outside the uk.
ReplyDeleteI so don't like shepherds pie - never have, never will. Can't stand mince except when it's heavily disguised as tacos or lasagne (not really fond of bolognese either). But the final insult is mashed potato (not my favourite) hardened in the oven! Yuk! Don't get me wrong, I am not a fussy eater - just not a fan of beef in any form or hardened or cold mashed potatoes! Or Vegemite!
ReplyDeleteHave just defrosted the lamb mince and intend to have Shepherd's pie for tea tonight. Love it. I thought it was cottage pie if using beef and Shepherd's pie if using lamb. I too am English and it was a staple on Monday night after the leg of lamb for Sunday lunch
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLynne - I sympathize with you about the mince, however as a Home Economics teacher, I have to teach students to cook with mince. I don't like mince because I dissected toads the same day as I cooked with mince when I went to school. The smell was not great. So my dislike has resulted in me coming up with my own variation of Shepherd's Pie. One that I could cope with looking at in 20 saucepans as I go around the room and not dry reach. I also often eat what I make for a dem so it had to be edible for me. Therefore we have a very vegetable and tomato heavy recipe in the school cook book. The former recipe at my school was very gluey and very brown - not like the one pictured above. The funny thing is most of my students have never eaten Shepherd's Pie before and because my surname is Shepherd, they think it is my own special pie recipe! They all have a giggle when I tell them the story behind the recipe in their book! Oh, and we have pyrex at school, but no dishes with lids.
ReplyDeleteMy love affair with Pyrex is over 30 years old, I have a set of mixing bowls that were a wedding present, the largest one got broken years ago most disappointing. Last week at Lifeline in Narellan they had one, the largest size for $25 it came home with me.
ReplyDeleteAbout 4 weeks ago the same lifeline store had half price homewares and I got 4 casserole dishes with lids the same design as my mixing bowls. The lot only cost me $26. I must take pictures and show you they are brown in colour with a blue pattern, very 70's but I love them and use them regularly.
Shepherds pie is a great recipe must try it next week for the family.
Wow Sue, Great buys!! I'd love to see some pictures of your retro Pyrex.
DeleteI love Shepards pie!! I grew up as a vegetarian and we'd have a version with beans and vegies cooked in tomatoes and topped with mash! Yumm!!! Now I eat meat and love Shepards pie on a cold winters night! I blew up my pyrex dish, it was still hot from the oven and I put cold water on it and it exploded into a zillion pieces all over the kitchen. Luckily I wasn't hurt, I was just embarrassed from doing such a silly thing.
ReplyDeleteI love hiding vegies in just about everything I cook, it's a bit of fun and good for the kiddies. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I love a good shepherd's pie so I'll give it a go :)
ReplyDeleteMy family all love shepherd's pie, especially in the winter. It always tastes nicer the next day as well. I also have pyrex jugs and bowls.
ReplyDeleteI love Pyrex! Greatest invention ever!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby hates sheperd's pie, too much as a child apparently. But I love it, I always get potato top pies at the bakery when we get pies!
I love Pyrex! Shepherd's pie is one of my husband's favorites. We add about 3/4 cup of red wine in the meat mixture. It's best to cook the meat mixture early in the day and let the flavors blend. Haven't tried it with pumpkin, but looks good!
ReplyDelete