Description
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.
Ingredients
- 5 cups mashed, boiled potatoes
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes with juice, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup peas
- 1 cup Irish stout beer (such as Guinness®)
- 1 cube beef bouillon
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Instructions
- Stir potatoes
- sour cream
- cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper together in a bowl until smooth.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add ground lamb
- reduce heat to medium
- and cook
- stirring frequently
- until browned and crumbly
- 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off excess grease and season lamb with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Stir tomatoes with juice
- onion
- and carrot into ground lamb; simmer until vegetables are tender
- 5 to 10 minutes. Add peas
- reduce heat to low
- and cook
- stirring frequently
- until peas are warmed
- 2 to 3 minutes.
- Heat beer in a saucepan over medium heat; add beef bouillon. Cook and stir beer mixture until bouillon is dissolved
- about 5 minutes.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a separate pan over medium-low heat until sizzling. Whisk flour into butter until thick and paste-like
- about 1 minute. Stir beer mixture and Worcestershire sauce into flour mixture until gravy is smooth and thickened
- 2 to 3 minutes. Stir gravy into lamb mixture and simmer until mixture is thickened
- at least 5 minutes.
- Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler. Grease a 9×12-inch baking dish.
- Pour lamb mixture into the prepared baking dish. Carefully spoon mashed potatoes over lamb mixture
- covering like a crust. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese
- parsley
- and paprika over mashed potatoes.
- Broil in the preheated oven until crust is browned and cheese is melted
- 4 to 5 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 8