Shepherd’s Pie

This Shepherd’s Pie is a version of the traditional Irish dish except we’ve used leeks in replace of onions for a bit of a twist. One portion fits perfectly in our 10cm Mini Cast Iron Casserole, believe us, it may look small, but they are deep enough to get a fair amount of filling in then topped with mashed potato and served with a side of veg, it’s the ideal amount. We’ve used the 24cm Copper Tri-ply Stockpot for making the filling for the recipe. Then we’ve used the Copper Base 20cm Saucepan for boiling the potatoes; the deeper more family friendly capacity of the Copper Base range allows enough space to comfortably boil the potatoes.

Kids in the Kitchen

Mashing – Have the kids been full of energy all day? Here’s how to help them get a little bit out! If you’re worried about the pot falling off the side from them trying to mash, just put it in the kitchen sink! Also, if you have a potato ricer this can be fun for the kids to put pieces into it and squeeze, similar to playing with play-dough!

Assembling – Get all the little dishes/mini casseroles that you are going to use out. It doesn’t matter if they’re all the same or a few different. Let your children choose which one they’d like and let them assemble it themselves. Pie filling, potatoes then grate their own cheese on the top. Here they can choose how much of each ingredient they’d like, yielding a truly unique pie just the way they would like it.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil or other oil for frying
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 leeks, sliced in half lengthways, then finely chopped
• 750g minced lamb
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 2 tablespoons Henderson’s Relish (sub. Worchestershire Sauce if Hendo’s is not available)
• 500ml beef stock
• 1 tablespoon plain white flour
• 1.2kg potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 80g butter
• 50g grated cheddar cheese (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Serve with steamed green beans or other vegetables

Equipment

• Knife
• Chopping board
• 20cm Copper Base Saucepan
• Copper Tri-ply 24cm Stock Pot
• Wooden spoon
• Ladle
• Peeler
• Potato Masher
• 6 Mini Cast Iron 10cm Casseroles
• Dessert spoon

Cooking Method

1. Heat the oil in the stockpot over a medium heat, once hot add the celery, carrot and leeks. Sweat the vegetables for around 5-10 minutes without browning.
2. When the vegetables are soft turn up the heat slightly and add the lamb mince, breaking it up with the spoon once in the pan. When the meat has browned spoon out the excess fat.
3. Add the Henderson’s Relish and the tomato purée, stir to combine. Now pour over stock and bring to a simmer.
4. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over a low heat then remove the lid and cook for a further 20 minutes to let the sauce reduce.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C and make the mashed potatoes in the 20cm saucepan. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Strain and mash the potatoes with the milk and butter. Set to one side.
6. With 5 minutes remaining on the cooking time for the pie filling, check to see if the sauce is thick enough. If it has a lot of excess liquid, sprinkle in the plain flour and stir until combined. Let this cook for the remaining 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
7. Divide the pie filling between the Mini Cast Iron Casseroles and then top with mashed potato covering to the edges then ruffling the potato slightly with a spoon to make soft peaks. Sprinkle a little grated cheddar cheese on the mashed potato.
8. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until it is slightly browned. After 20 minutes if the top is not yet brown you can switch your oven to the grill setting to finish the tops off slightly. Keep an eye on the pies at this point in order not to burn the top of the mash.
9. The Mini Casseroles will hold the heat for quite a long time after being in the oven so be careful when handling and eating. Serve with a side of steamed green beans, peas or other vegetables.