Cooking: Shepherd’sPie

My home smells like mutton, but tonight’s shepherd pie was scrumptious and comforting. It started with chopping the onions, garlic, carrots and celery the night before. And setting them out the next day with ground lamb, potatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, and...                              

the dark beer for de-glazing the fond and sipping while I cook. While browning and reserving the ground lamb, I suddenly remembered I needed herbs too for this pie and stepped out to cut some rosemary and thyme.

I sautéed the onions and garlic and added a little of my stout (but not too much or the gravy will be too bitter) to deglaze the fond. I then added the carrots and celery to soften a little and then added the ground lamb as well as a tablespoon or so of tomato paste which thickened and darkened the meat and vegetable mixture on to which I sprinkled a couple tablespoons of flour to further thicken. Taste along the way because I needed to season in layers (I also used a little bit of Maggi to add oomph). And then add beef broth incrementally until it's the amount of gravy or thick sauciness you like. 

I had also peeled and boiled my potatoes and lashed with hot milk, cream and butter--too much milk in my case because my potatoes were rather like wallpaper paste, albeit delicious gluey mashed potatoes. No matter because I could dry it out a bit in the pot on a low heat and further in the oven atop the saucy meat and vegetables. Rather than fancily pipe the mashed potatoes, I just spread over the pie filling and used the tines of a fork to create crags and channels before popping into 375 degree oven. I made another smaller one to give to Cecilia.

The pie ingredients were already hot, but I wanted a beautiful browning on the top and for the juicy filling to ooze up a little on the sides, and so I baked it for 30 minutes or so.

Cecilia was therapizing a patient before her dinner, and so I told her to do the same with her pie and showed her the above pic to say when to remove from the oven.

I think my shepherd's pie would very much taste like one hubs' parents would've eaten back in their mother country. And that's on my travel bucket list--Ireland--hike its green hills and coast, visit a museum and tour some ceramic studios as well as eat some of its iconic dishes and burgeoning cuisine scene.