[Recipe] Sheperd's Pie Recipe

I remember the first time I tasted this dish was back in the mid 90's at a quaint little cafe, tucked in a quiet corner at Far East Plaza. I immediately declared it my comfort dish because it was OH-SO-GOOD but not long after (well at least after 5 visits), this cafe closed down!  Determined to re-create this dish, I found myself a simple recipe and have improvised a little to its taste along the way. 

As we had a family picnic last week, I made this pie and received the thumbs up from my family and extended family who tried it. Even my daughter, who is not into beef, had a quarter of pie to herself! (I asked the hubs if it was good and his reply was "cook more tomorrow"... smart answer! :p)

INGREDIENTS TO PREPARE
- 450gm minced beef
{originally, it is supposedly lamb meat, hence the dish name. You can also substitute with pork and it tastes equally wonderful}
- 4 to 5 large potatoes, skinned
- 5 tbsp of tomato paste or from a small can of pasta sauce

- 1 rice bowl of frozen peas
{though I used canned peas in this batch, it was too mushy for my liking}
- 2 medium sized onions {sliced into small pieces}
- 1/2 cube of chicken stock or 1 tsp of Masterchef multi-purpose seasoning powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf {optional}
- 3 tbsp corn flour
- Olive oil {optional}
- Cooking oil
 - Mayonaisse
 - Ground pepper {optional}
- Salt to taste

I marinated the beef with the pasta sauce, 6-7 dashes of worcestershire sauce, corn flour and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.

COOKING STEPS
- heat up pan with about 1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil
- fry onions till soft
- add marinated meat and fry till about half cooked
- add in chicken stock, peas and bay leaf
- mix well and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally and set aside when cooked.

Now for the potatoes :
- Cook potatoes in boiling water for approx. 45 minutes or till soft when you poke a fork through.
- When potatoes are cooked and cooled, mash it up. This can be done beforehand.
- I added about 6 tbsp of mayonaisse, 1 tsp of olive oil, dashes of pepper and a light sprinkle of salt.
- Mix the potatoes well. Do a taste test because it may be subjective to you.

Lay the meat in a casserole or foiled tin before adding the mashed potatoes on top, making sure that it is compressed nicely. Do a little criss cross design on top of the potatoes with a fork and put in the oven to bake. You can also add some cheese topping if you like. This step is for the outer layer of the potato to be lightly crusted. You don't need to bake it too long if it is still piping hot and ready to serve. Set the oven on high about 190 degrees and bake for about 10 minutes.

I used disposable foiled tin for the picnic.

Happy cooking and eating! Tell me if this dish becomes one of your favourite too!

Till the next post, have a blessed week!