Old Fashioned Best Ever Comfort Spoon Food…4th Generation Recipe
In my house hold the only reason to have slow braised roast lamb on a Sunday is so we can have Shepard’s pie!
Soft buttery creamy mashed potatoes with crispy baked peaks, bubbling erupting pools of rich caramelised lamb stock red wine gravy giving way to succulent braised lamb in red wine stock gravy, peas and carrots of course, this is truly spoon food of love and comfort.
As a child coming home to the smell of a Shepard’s pie baking in the oven just brings a warm smile and a greedy belly to me. Ultimate comfort food for me, my Mum’s, Nan’s and Great Grannies family recipe and now mine, I’m sure each generation has tinkered ever so slightly with the recipe, I know my mum added homemade lamb bone stock for the gravy and for me it’s the addition of red wine and left over slow roasted shoulder of lamb instead of mince.
We made this over the coronation of King Charles III and scored the Union Jack flag in the mashed potato topping as a celebration.
Simple and very easy to make with just a few ingredients, a relaxed cooking method letting the oven do all the work infusing such depth of flavours makes this such a great dinner.
Slow braised Sunday roast lamb recipe below.
Ingredients
(serves 4-6)
Shepard’s Pie
1 whole shoulder or 2 halves of lamb slow braised or from leftovers
(slow braised recipe below)
1 glug olive oil
1 knob of butter
1 white onion finely diced
2 large carrots peeled and finely diced
1 cup petite pois peas (optional)
300ml red wine
500ml lamb stock Knorr jelly pot
left over lamb stock gravy from slow braised lamb
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
100g fresh grated Parmesan
Decedent Mashed Potatoes
1 kg King Edward or Idaho potatoes peeled and halved
250g butter
100ml double cream
1 tbsp malt vinegar
1 pinch saffron (optional)
1 tbsp sea salt
White pepper
Method
Pre heat your oven to 180 C / 350 F
Heat a large skillet medium hot, add the olive oil and butter, add the onions and carrots and soften for around 10 minutes, but keep the onion’s translucent.
Chop the lamb in to pea size chunks, add to the onion mix and pan fry for 5 minutes.
Add the red wine, lamb stock, leftover roast gravy, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, simmer gently for a hour or so to reduce by half to a medium thick consistency, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile place the peeled halved potatoes in a large pan of cold water with a tbsp of salt and bring to a rolling simmer, cook the potatoes until fork tender, drain and leave to steam dry in a colander for 5 minutes, return the pan back to a low low heat, add the butter and cream, when almost melted add back the potatoes, malt vinegar, saffron, generous pinch sea salt and white pepper, mash until smooth, taste and season further if needed.
In a large casserole dish pour in the lamb shepards pie mix, top with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese, bake for approx 40 minutes until you have a gorgeous crispy top and the gravy is bubbling out over the edges of the mashed potato creating crispy lamb gravy infused edges of mashed potatoes, that’s my favourite bit. Serve family style with our favourite Heinz baked beans.
Slow Braised Roast Shoulder of Lamb
Ingredients
(serves 4)
1 whole or 2 half shoulders lamb
2 leeks sliced
1 carrot chopped
1 celery diced
1 onion sliced
4 cloves garlic bashed
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 bottle good red wine
2 ltr lamb stock
10 whole black pepper corns
100ml masala or port for the gravy
1 generous tsp red current jelly
1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour mixed as a (thickener)
To Roast The Lamb
Pre heat your oven to 170C / 356 F season the lamb shoulders with the salt, rub olive all over and sear the skin in a hot roasting pan on the hob, then place all the chopped vegetables and herbs in your roasting tin, move the lamb to on top, season with black pepper, pour in the wine and stock, cover with parchment paper and then foil and slowly braise the lamb for 3-4 hours in the oven until the lamb is falling off the bone, that's it the most gorgeous tender roast lamb, serve with your favourite roast trimmings.
Or even better just make shepards pie…
Best Ever Stock Gravy
Strain off the cooking juices, skin off the fat and reduce by 1/3 - 1/2 depending on the concentrated taste of the stock in a pan with a generous glug of masala or port for the best ever gravy, if you want your gravy a little thicker then just mix a couple of equal tbsp of butter to flour and whisk in to thicken slightly, a generous dollop of red current jelly also enhances the gravy. The left over gravy really adds to the depth of flavour of the Shepards pie.
Tip if your gluten free like me I blitz some of the stock vegetables, carrot, leek a little onion and garlic in the stock and hey presto a thickened gravy!
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