Our versions.

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First: The Fast Quick and Easy.
Basically a 5 ingredient meal

INGREDIENTS:

2 or more c grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper,
garlic,
1 lb. lean chuck or ground beef
1 onion, chopped
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
3 cups refrigerated mashed potatoes

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In heavy skillet lightly cook ground beef and onion until tender adding Salt and Pepper to taste,
Drain well,
Add soup using only about half the water, you want more of a gravy then a soup,
Cook until hot,
Place in 9 inch pie plate layering mashed potatoes thinly over hot mixture.
Bake at 375 degrees until potatoes are golden,
Take out of oven and add grated Cheddar cheese over top,
Bake until cheese is melted.

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Second: More Traditional from a very old recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 or more c grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper,
garlic,
1 lb of small cubed lean beef,
1 onion, chopped,
2 to 3 c of fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 to 3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed,

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In heavy skillet lightly cook ground beef and onion until tender adding Salt and Pepper to taste,
Drain well,
Cook and mash the potatoes,
Make a flour gravy using some of the drippings from the beef and add the sliced mushrooms, stir till s'rooms are a wee bit soft
Mix the main ingredients and mushroom gravy,
Place in 9 inch pie plate layering mashed potatoes over mixture.
Bake at 375 degrees until potatoes are golden,
Take out of oven and add grated Cheddar cheese over top,
Bake until cheese is melted.

Serve with fresh bread and maybe vegetables of your choice

Hi. We call this Cottage Pie in the UK. For us, Shepherd's Pie is made from lamb, not beef.

I used to do this every Sunday for a few years, before I learned to cook other things properly. Threw in the minced beef (or lamb), finely diced carrots, onions, garlic, and tomatoes, as well as any other veg that was to hand. Then added pepper, basil and any other herbs that I thought might go. Then mashed the potato and put that on top.

It saved me having to cook veg in addtion, and Liz and I used to have a large plateful each. I think she was pleased when I learnt new recipes.

Meg just realized I omitted the veggies and so I got a verbal clout up side the head.
Thanks!!
for filling in the missing ingredients.
The name we know it by came from the other half of Ireland

I guess that figures. They probably call the lamb version Cowboy's Pie

Very naughty of you Andrew!



My Mother's shepherds pie was always made with Lamb - however while at university in Wales it was invariably made with beef (one bizarre helping was made with Pork!), strange considering Wales is famous in fact and in stereotype for its Lamb (and many a paranoid sheep)

Despite the meat used, it's interesting how this dish has developed regionally, I assume according to the vegetable and herbs available in a particular locality - it is one of those lovely dishes where it's possible, to an extent, to chop and change ingredients based on what is left in the kitchen.

However before reading this thread I had always considered myself quite the galloping gourmet due to the fact that I am able to construct a shepherds' pice from scratch (it's certainly a level above my previous highlight of beans on toast), but I guess the fact I consider it to be the extent of my culinary genius indicates I still have a lot to learn