Shepherd's Pie

Ground lamb the way lamb wants it — rosemary, a little red wine, peas & carrots under crisp-peaked mash

Serves 6 · 30 min

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The lamb filling
1½ lb ground lamb
1 onion · 2 carrots · 2 garlic cloves — diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste · 1 Tbsp Worcestershire · 1 Tbsp flour
¼ cup red wine (optional, or extra stock)
1 cup beef or lamb stock
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary · 1 tsp thyme
1 cup peas
Mash top
2 lb potatoes · 4 Tbsp butter · ~½ cup milk · salt
1 egg yolk (optional, for browning) · a little cheese (optional)

Brown the lamb hard, then pour off the fat. Oven to 400°F. Brown the lamb in a wide pan without stirring much, so it sears instead of steaming grey; season with salt and pepper. Then tip off most of the rendered fat, leaving a tablespoon or so to cook the veg.
Build a thick gravy. Add onion, carrot, garlic to the pan; soften. Stir in the tomato paste 1 min, then the flour 1 min, then the red wine to deglaze, then the Worcestershire, stock, rosemary, and thyme. Simmer to a thick, spoonable gravy — not soupy, or the potato sinks. Stir in the peas; season well.
Mash, stiff-ish. Boil the potatoes, mash with butter, milk, and salt to a firm, spreadable mash (too loose and it won't hold peaks). Beat in the egg yolk if using.
Top, rough it, bake. Spread the filling in a dish; spread the mash over, then drag a fork across it into peaks (the peaks brown and crisp). Dot with butter (or the cheese). Bake uncovered 25–30 min until golden and the edges bubble; broil a minute to crisp the peaks.
Rest. 10 min so it holds its cut.

Steps — tap one to keep your place

1. Brown the lamb hard, then pour off the fat. Oven to 400°F. Brown the lamb in a wide pan without stirring much, so it sears instead of steaming grey; season with salt and pepper. Then tip off most of the rendered fat, leaving a tablespoon or so to cook the veg.

2. Build a thick gravy. Add onion, carrot, garlic to the pan; soften. Stir in the tomato paste 1 min, then the flour 1 min, then the red wine to deglaze, then the Worcestershire, stock, rosemary, and thyme. Simmer to a thick, spoonable gravy — not soupy, or the potato sinks. Stir in the peas; season well.

3. Mash, stiff-ish. Boil the potatoes, mash with butter, milk, and salt to a firm, spreadable mash (too loose and it won't hold peaks). Beat in the egg yolk if using.

4. Top, rough it, bake. Spread the filling in a dish; spread the mash over, then drag a fork across it into peaks (the peaks brown and crisp). Dot with butter (or the cheese). Bake uncovered 25–30 min until golden and the edges bubble; broil a minute to crisp the peaks.

5. Rest. 10 min so it holds its cut.

✨ Untested — Claude drafted this one from scratch; it hasn't been cooked and amended in our kitchen yet, so treat the amounts as a starting point. No alcohol? swap the wine or beer for the same amount of stock, with a splash of vinegar or lemon for the brightness. Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.