NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.
Although meat pies have been eaten in the British Isles since the Middle Ages (14th Century, last I heard), Shepherd’s Pie as we know it today coincided with the arrival of the potato in Europe. The Spanish brought potatoes to Europe in 1520, but they didn’t catch on until the 18th Century in Great Britain. Shepherd’s Pie appeared shortly thereafter – although under its original name, Cottage Pie, and made mostly with beef. The term Shepherd’s Pie followed about a hundred years later, along with the idea that it should be made with mutton. Today, Shepherd’s Pie can be made with beef or lamb, or sometimes both, while Cottage Pie usually refers only to the beef version of the dish.
Another interesting thing about this dish is the fact that it’s prevalent in many other cultures, with some pretty amusing names, like Pâté Chinois (“Chinese Pie”, French Canada), Картофельная Запеканка (“Potato Baked Pudding”, Russia), and Escondidinho (“Hidden”, Brazil).
You’ll Need:
1.5 lbs ground beef, ground lamb, or a mixture of the two
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 small white onion, blended in a processor or blender
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery root, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp each fresh thyme and rosemary, chopped (dried okay, but halve the amount)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
The first step is to prep your ingredients and have them handy; this dish doesn’t take long to make, and it comes together much more smoothly if everything is ready to go beforehand.
Peel and slice your potatoes, then put them in a pot and fill with cold water, until the potatoes are covered by an inch of water. Bring to boil then simmer for about 10-12 minutes, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
Drain and return the potatoes to the pot. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Then mash the potatoes and stir in the 1/2 cup cream until they look nice and creamy. Adjust the amount of cream as needed. Cover and set aside; if you’re up to it, you can actually be cooking those potatoes as you’re making your beef mixture, since they take about the same amount of time to cook.
On medium heat, brown the ground meat until most of the pink is gone. Drain and set aside the rendered fat, then set aside the cooked meat.
Return 2 tbsp of the rendered fat to the pan, as well as 1 tbsp butter, and warm it on medium heat.
Add the onion, celery root (or parsnip), and carrot, and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and garlic, sautéing for another 2 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Simmer for 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Remove the pan from heat and stir in the ground beef and frozen peas. This is also a good time to start pre-heating your oven to 450 degrees.
Spread the meat mixture evenly into a 8×8 baking dish (or something similar in size).
Add the mashed potatoes onto the meat mixture (it works best if you add it in small globs, as opposed to plopping it all on the top at once), then spread everything out with a spatula to make it look pretty.
Bake in the middle rack on 450 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes look nice and browned.
That’s it! Let the dish rest for five minutes before tearing into it.
The Domestic Man 
Would it be blasphemous to make Shepherd’s Pie without celery? Because while you might think onions are gross, I think that celery is disgusting!
Otherwise, this looks awesome. ; )
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Wow, no celery? Even celery root? :) You could totally use a parsnip instead; the taste might be a little different, but I’m sure it’d be great.
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Does celery root taste a lot like celery? Actually, I think what bugs me most is the texture…those little strings.
My nightmare ‘snack’ would be celery with peanut butter and raisins. : X
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It has a slight celery taste, but more nutty. Like a cross between a parsnip and celery. Oh man, I used to love “ants on a log”! My son eats them with sunflower butter.
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Looks really good. We have a restaurant near the office that serves Shepherd’s Pie, and yours looks much better :-).
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Thanks Van!
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Mine isn’t terribly attractive, but it was good! http://imgur.com/trtxU
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Nice!
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Actually, the name ‘Cottage Pie’ is still used by the British as the proper term for the beef version.
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Ivy, I definitely agree with you, and looking at my post, it does convey the idea that Cottage Pie is no longer in use; I’m going to edit it now so it’s a little more clear.
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I had to pass this fantastic recipe to my sister,since I’m allergic to lactose,but congrats for the way you presented it,all the steps so greatly explained and for reminding me of my holidays in England when I was much younger and not allergic!
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Thanks for passing the recipe on!
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Yes,but I’m wating for something special and lactose-free!…………….I dare too much, I suppose, but remember me! Thanks a lot,Russ!
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For a lactose free version… I assume you could use almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk instead of cream (I prefer almond) and coconut oil or some type of vegetable oil instead of butter.
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Sara, you’re so kind and clever! Usually I do change the ingredients so as to obtain a healthier version of a recipe, but this time it didn’t occur to me…. I’ll try it for certain,thanks a lot
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Sara, I agree; coconut oil and coconut milk would do the trick! :)
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I wonder if it would taste good with beets instead of celery root….I have everything on hand for this, except the celery root.
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I don’t see why not! Let me know how it goes :)
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good sir! i made this dish this past weekend and i’m posting it on one of my blogs this thursday… Feel free to swing by and take a peek if you like – it was Ah-mazing! :)
http://www.two-taste-buds.blogspot.ca
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Looks great! For everyone else, here is Kristy’s post: http://two-taste-buds.blogspot.com/2012/11/rippin-another-blog-shepherds-pie-not.html
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Making this for the 5th time. So delicious. :)
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Awesome!
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Made this tonight with slight adjustment in ingredients. I used white button mushrooms instead of green peas (my hubby is allergic to them), no onions or garlic (too hard on my stomach). I doubled Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and final result is great! I’ll be making this one again.
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I love making Shepards pie, but this version sounds delicious! Will have to try it with parsnip mash on top for an evening meal
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Great recipe, Russ! It turned out really tasty for me! I went with a mashed cauliflower topping instead of potatoes, which was really good. Check out my handiwork here: http://wholefoodhalfass.com/post/50321583978/may-9-dinner-paleo-shepherds-pie-salad-on Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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How do you think it would be with ground goat meat?
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Jess, yes goat meat should work okay. I would expect it to taste a bit like how it does with lamb.
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Your recipe looks great! I’ve made Cottage pie many times, sometimes even with leftover pot roast, using the gravy in the pie. I never used tomato paste, though – in our house, it was HP Sauce. However, since I can’t have gluten anymore, I was wondering what to use to give it flavour. Tomato paste works wonders. Thanks.
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Carol, no problem! Yep, tomato paste doest the trick.
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Thank you so much for this recipe! I finally got around to making it for dinner this evening, and it was such a hit that my youngest son who doesn’t eat anything (seriously) had THREE helpings! The only thing I did differently was to use parsnip instead of celery root, since the store didn’t have it. We really enjoyed the pie with the parsnip flavor in there, so I’ll probably do it the same way next time. Thanks again!
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Cool! Happy to hear that your son liked it.
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Russ, my family has this atleast 3 times a month. It’s a staple. My 5 year old gobbles it down and my 20 month old just grabs handfuls and shovels it in. My husband….well I always have to make enough for leftover lunches for him to take to work. This dish gets better as it sits in the fridge!! Thank you for sharing your talent with us and making your fans meal-time heros!
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Chrissie, thanks for the feedback, happy to hear you folks like it!
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Can this be made ahead of time (early afternoon or morning) and then baked later? At which step would you suggest stopping (ex. add the potatoes right before baking?) or would it work to put it all together and then wait? Thanks!
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