Recipe: Perfect Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Traditionally, shepherd's pie is made with lamb (hence the name).

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. Shepherd's Pie is basically a beefy pot pie with mashed potatoes on top instead of a crust, and mashed potatoes make everything better, don't they? You can have Shepherd's Pie using 12 ingredients and 12 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Shepherd's Pie

1. Prepare 2 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced.
2. It's 1 pound of ground beef.
3. You need of Large onion, diced.
4. Prepare 1/2 of each red, yellow, green pepper diced.
5. It's 2 Tbs of each rosemary and Italian seasoning.
6. You need 1 Tbs of each onion and garlic powder.
7. It's 1/4 cup of AP flour.
8. It's 2 cups of low sodium beef stock.
9. It's 1/2 cup of milk (I used almond).
10. You need 1 stick of unsalted butter.
11. You need 1 lb of bag frozen corn.
12. It's to taste of S&P.

This is a recipe for Cottage Pie. This is a recipe for Cottage Pie. So, this is how you spell it: Shepherd's Pie. But, from doing a quick google search, it came to my attention that TONS of people think it's Shepards Pie.

Shepherd's Pie instructions

1. Peel and dice potatoes. Add to pot of water..
2. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are very soft.
3. While potatoes are cooking, dice onion and peppers.
4. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to skillet and once hot, add onion and peppers. Cook til translucent.
5. Add ground beef and seasoning to skillet and cook until no longer pink.
6. Preheat oven to 400°.
7. Add flour to skillet and cook a few minutes, stirring often.
8. Add stock and cook until thickened. Turn off heat.
9. Once potatoes are soft, drain and put back into the pot with butter and milk and S&P. Mash..
10. In a greased deep 9x13 baking dish, add beef mixture. Add corn, and top with potatoes.
11. Bake for about 30 minutes or until top is golden.
12. I like to top it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and cook until melted..

Traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie would actually call for ground lamb. The difference between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie is the meat. Shepherd's Pie comes to us from England, and is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Here in the states we are more of a beef eating culture than a lamb eating one, and when one is served "shepherd's pie" here, it is most often made with ground beef. Cover, set aside, keep warm while preparing beef.