Shepherd's Pie

There is a new recipe that I like much better at Shepherd's Pie #2 .

I'm a firm believer that the shepherd's pie should be made with lamb, not ground beef. In particular, it should be made with leftover lamb roast and gravy . The dish is supposed to have come about because it was a good way to use the Sunday roast lamb leftovers.

3.0 lb. roasted lamb, cut into small strips 20 fl. oz. lamb gravy 2.5 lb. Yukon gold mashed potatoes 2.4 oz. frozen corn (about 1/2 cup) 2.0 oz. frozen peas (about 1/2 cup)

Add to a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish with the lamb on the bottom. Season the lamb again with salt and pepper.

Add the gravy.

Add the peas and corn. Top with mashed potatoes.

Place on top of a sheet pan in case it bubbles over and cook at 400°F for 25 minutes or until the potatoes brown slightly.

Serves 4. The picture at the top of the page is half of a serving.

It is possible to freeze leftover shepherd's pie. The best way I've found is to freeze the baking dish for a 3 hours until it becomes frozen but still soft enough to cut into serving pieces. Vacuum seal the pieces. The vacuum sealing isn't so important for the freezing part, but it's the best way to reheat. Take the frozen bag and put into a pot of boiling water. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, then simmer for 30 minutes. I never had any luck with the microwave (does bad things to the potato) or the oven (kind of dries it out).

Side Note:

Though you probably can't tell from the pictures, I did a silly thing that I did in the preparation of this dish. I made it a day ahead, taking the pictures and then putting the baking dish into the refrigerator. The next day I realized that I forgot to add the corn and peas! I had to carefully peel off the mashed potatoes, put the vegetables in, then close it back up again. The finished product looked better than I would have expected!