Easy One Pot Shepherd's Pie
St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t have to be all corned beef and cabbage or even my delicious Guinness Beer and Lamb stew. A more casual approach that works any day of the year is Shepherd’s Pie. Shepherd’s pie has all the comfort of a pot pie without the hassle of making a pastry crust. It also uses ground meat instead of more expensive cuts, making it affordable to feed a crowd.
Typically, when I am cooking, I always look for ways to use as few pots and utensils as possible. I could say this was because I loved efficiency, but really it’s because I hate washing dishes. (Who’s with me?🖐) I use a kitchen scale—for accuracy yes—but also to avoid dirtying a bunch of measuring cups and spoons. Most recipes for shepherd’s pie—a stunningly humble dish—call for dirtying at least two pots and then transferring everything to a casserole dish (which you will be washing later🙄). I know! That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s be real. We’re not making pheasant under glass here—we’re making loose meat covered in mashed potatoes. It doesn’t need to be that complicated. I wanted to streamline the preparation of this pot pie and reduce clean-up by making this a one pot meal. If I am making a casserole why should I have to wash several pots and a casserole dish? I’ve found that with an appropriately sized pot, I could eliminate the need for a separate casserole dish. The rest is just order of operations in terms of the sequence in which the components of the recipe are prepared. Once that is sorted out, you get to enjoy your one pot meal with very little clean up!
Just know that you can only call this Shepherd’s pie if you use lamb, as that’s what shepherds raise. If you use ground beef you have to call it cottage pie, because cows live in cottages, right? Okay, maybe not—but, whatever meat you use, you will definitely call it delicious.
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
Directions:
Place potatoes in large deep skillet or “braiser” (should be 3 ½ quart capacity, 12 inches across and 3 ½ inches deep). Cover with cold water and add 2 tbsp kosher salt. Bring to a simmer, turn to low and cover. Cook until potatoes are tender when tested with a knife, about 25 minutes. Remove potatoes to clean bowl. Discard cooking water. Top hot potatoes with 4 Tbsp of the butter, cover and set aside to cool.
Wipe skillet with damp paper towel and return to stovetop over medium high heat. Add olive oil and crumble in ground lamb. Season with salt and pepper and brown thoroughly breaking up large chunks as you go.
Once lamb is nicely browned*, reduce heat to medium and add diced onions and celery to the pan. Stir and continue to cook until onions are translucent. *If meat releases excessive fat while browning, remove all but two tablespoon of it before adding onions and celery.
Add tomato paste and stir, cooking until tomato paste begins to caramelize. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to incorporate.
Add red wine to the pan to deglaze. Stir up any brown bits. Add stock and stir until no lumps remain.
Add chopped parsley and thyme and stir. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes* or until mixture thickens enough to leave a brief trail in pan when stirred. *Preheat oven to 425° F while mixture simmers.
Add frozen baby peas and stir. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare the potato topping.
Mash the cooled potatoes with the now melted butter until mostly smooth. Add chopped chives and stir to incorporate. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Whisk together egg and milk to homogenize and add to potatoes. Make sure potatoes are not hot or egg will scramble.
Carefully dollop rounded tablespoons of the mashed potato topping, evenly over the surface of the mixture. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. Use a spoon dipped in butter to smooth the top of the potatoes to seal in the meat mixture. Don’t press down too hard! Use a forks to add a cross hatch texture to the top if desired. Drizzle with remaining melted butter.
Transfer to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the potato top is golden brown and reaches 180° F. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
(Serves 8)
Ingredients:
Potato Crust
6 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes (About 1000-1100 grams once peeled and quartered)
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
6 Tbsp Salted Butter (reserve 2 Tbsp for top of pie)
1 Large Egg
¼ cup (60 ml) Milk
30 Grams Fresh Chives, chopped. (about ½ cup)
Filling
2 lbs (896 grams) 90% lean Ground Lamb (or Ground Beef for Cottage Pie)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Table Salt
½ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Medium Onion, diced. (about 100 grams)
2 Stalks Celery, diced. (about 100 grams)
1 Garlic Clove, minced.
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
4 Tbsp (30 grams) Flour
½ Cup (120 ml) Red Wine
3 Cups (720 ml) Lamb, Chicken or Beef Stock or Broth
½ Tbsp Fresh Thyme Leaves, minced (or ½ tsp dried)
½ cup (15 grams) packed Fresh Parsley leaves, chopped. (reserve 1 Tbsp for top)
3 Carrots, diced. (about 250 grams)
1 cup Frozen Baby Sweet Garden Peas (130 grams)
St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t have to be all corned beef and cabbage or even my delicious Guinness Beer and Lamb stew. A more casual approach that works any day of the year is Shepherd’s Pie. Shepherd’s pie has all the comfort of a pot pie without the hassle of making a pastry crust. It also uses ground meat instead of more expensive cuts, making it affordable to feed a crowd.
Typically, when I am cooking, I always look for ways to use as few pots and utensils as possible. I could say this was because I loved efficiency, but really it’s because I hate washing dishes. (Who’s with me?🖐) I use a kitchen scale—for accuracy yes—but also to avoid dirtying a bunch of measuring cups and spoons. Most recipes for shepherd’s pie—a stunningly humble dish—call for dirtying at least two pots and then transferring everything to a casserole dish (which you will be washing later🙄). I know! That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s be real. We’re not making pheasant under glass here—we’re making loose meat covered in mashed potatoes. It doesn’t need to be that complicated. I wanted to streamline the preparation of this pot pie and reduce clean-up by making this a one pot meal. If I am making a casserole why should I have to wash several pots and a casserole dish? I’ve found that with an appropriately sized pot, I could eliminate the need for a separate casserole dish. The rest is just order of operations in terms of the sequence in which the components of the recipe are prepared. Once that is sorted out, you get to enjoy your one pot meal with very little clean up!
Just know that you can only call this Shepherd’s pie if you use lamb, as that’s what shepherds raise. If you use ground beef you have to call it cottage pie, because cows live in cottages, right? Okay, maybe not—but, whatever meat you use, you will definitely call it delicious.
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
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