How to Cook Perfect Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie. Yes, shepherd's pie is predominantly thought of as Irish or British. But since I'm Scottish, I thought I'd give it a unique twist to suit my ancestral tastes. The use of lamb, the smoky, heather taste of Guinness® Draught (Irish, I admit), and the topping of sharp Cheddar and smoked paprika give this version its unique, smoky-sweet flavor.

You'll love the convenience of this easy, comforting shepherd's pie from Martha Stewart. Unlike other shepherd's pie recipes, this one calls for frozen vegetables instead of fresh and can be made the day before. Shepherd's Pie comes to us from England, and is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. You can cook Shepherd's pie using 17 ingredients and 12 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Shepherd's pie

1. Prepare 1 of ground beef or lamb.
2. It's 1/4 cup of frozen corn.
3. Prepare 1/4 cup of frozen peas.
4. You need 1/4 cup of frozen or fresh carrot cubed.
5. Prepare 3 of large potatoes.
6. You need 1 of small onion, chopped.
7. You need 3 clove of garlic.
8. Prepare 2 tbsp of ketchup.
9. You need 1 of paprika.
10. Prepare 1 tsp of ground black pepper.
11. You need 1/4 tsp of chili powder.
12. You need 1/4 cup of water.
13. Prepare 1 of oil to cook meat.
14. Prepare 1/4 cup of cheese.
15. It's 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon.
16. You need 1/3 cup of flour.
17. You need 1/4 cup of milk.

Here in the states we are more of a beef eating culture than a lamb eating one, and when one is served "shepherd's pie" here, it is most often made with ground beef. Traditionally, shepherd's pie is made with lamb (hence the name). However, as the dish gained wider popularity outside of its native English homeland (where using beef would make this a cottage pie), beef became a common substitute, especially in America where it's more widely available than ground lamb. These shepherd's pie recipes run the range from the traditional (featuring ground or minced lamb) to the modestly modified (ground beef instead of lamb) to the more modern and experimental (vegan or paleo shepherd's pies).

Shepherd's pie step by step

1. If a pan, add the oil, onion and chopped garlic.
2. Let it cook for couple of minutes then add the beef or lamb.
3. Keep stirring.. you can little bit of cinnamon powder to remove the smell of lamb or beef **optional**.
4. Once the meat is cooked, add the flour and keep stirring till the flour is golden.
5. Add all the spices and the ketchup.. keep stirring.
6. Add the water then the veggies.
7. Cover over low heat for 5 minutes.
8. Add the meat to the pan that will go to the oven.
9. Boil the potatoes in boiling water then peel them and mash them.
10. In a cooking pan add bit of oil and the mashed potatoes.. keep stirring then add the milk and cheese.
11. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat.. make some groves using a fork to the top of the potatoes.
12. Cook in the oven for 20 min 350°F.

You can't go wrong with any of these savory one-pot comfort-food casseroles, complete meals that also feature veggies, a savory gravy, and a mashed potato (or a surprise. Shepherd's pie is traditionally made with a ground-lamb filling, but we make ours with ground beef. The sauce is really simple and flavorful, but the best part is the insanely fluffy mashed potato. Get Shepherd's Pie Recipe from Food Network. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes.