jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) (06/23/85)
Beef??? It's not cowboy's pie! Shepherd's pie is a traditional way for thrifty British housespouses to use up leftover lamb. Lamb is delicious! Everyone should eat it often. Buy a leg of lamb too large for your family to eat at one sitting. Cook and serve. Refrigerate remainder. Next day, or whenever, cut all the remaining meat off the bone. Grind, or, if you have no meat-grinder (Br. meat mincer) cut very small. Add a few frozen peas, carrots, thyme, corn, whatever you fancy. If it seems a bit dry, add oil. Cook enough mashed potatoes to serve your size of multitude. Put the meat in a casserole (if serving only two, a loaf pan is better) and spread potatoes evenly on top. Bake at 350 for about 45 mins. It may or may not brown on top; if not, a _very_ brief singe under the broiler will do it. Enjoy!
mgh@mtunh.UUCP (Marcus Hand) (07/02/85)
I didn't present my Shepherd's Pie as authentic in the traditional sense. It may originally have been made from mutton (probably not lamb) judging by its name, but the fact remains that Shepherds pie as made by the vast majority of British is generally made from ground beef. (If it were made from sheep meat, potatoes and onions and had a crust, that would be a scouse pie, but thats another story... ). My dictionary says shepherds pie is a meat dish cooked with potatoes on top -- sounds like non-specific peasant fare to me (but nevertheless good). -- Marcus Hand (mtunh!mgh)