Shepherd's pie is made using ground lamb. Lamb was not something I ate a lot of in Canada. It was not all that easy to find although my late FIL raised lamb on his farm. It is probably the same as it is in most places.
You have a hard time finding things that are actually grown there because it usually gets shipped elsewhere. That's why we end up eating California berries and BC apples, even though we have really good ones here in Nova Scotia. It's all down to trade agreements.
I remember the first time I went up to the Horseshoe Pass in Wales. I was amazed at all the sheep. They were everywhere. Dotting the hillsides, on the roads, etc.
I remember tip toe-ing through the grass trying to avoid their mess, not wanting to step on it. But there was no getting away from it, and really it doesn't smell anyways. Not like others. You just had to give up after a while!
I use a bit of carrot in the mix with the meat and onions. This adds a little touch of sweetness and helps to get in a bit of extra veg. You could certainly add some celery if you wished or even grated turnips. Both would work well.
I also flavour the gravy with Worcestershire Sauce. It adds a lovely touch. You could add a splash of HP sauce as well if you liked, or even Ketchup but it is not really traditional if you do.
The thatch of potatoes on top is really nice and flavour filled as well. You will want to use a nice floury potato so that your mash is nice and light.
Don't use new potatoes. Old potatoes work best. New Potatoes don't mash properly. I made that mistake once at Thanksgiving when I was really young and didn't know better. Are you familiar with the consistency of glue? haha Yep, not very appealing in the least!
I have 20 years of lost time to make up for and I plan on doing just that for the remainder of my days. Making up for lost time. Building memories for those grands that are much more than a photograph or a face through a screen that they cannot touch!
That is the silver lining in all that I have been through lately. Being able to be with family and forge relationships with my grandchildren. That is the real gift. And I will never take it for granted, not ever.
I have sized this recipe down to generously serve just two people. There are quantities in the recipe for both two and four servings.
The larger servings are in brackets. I hope that it is easy to understand and not confusing. I tried to make it as easy as possible.
The cheese tastes really good and helps to get a really nice golden brown colour to the finished dish. I think something which is topped with golden brown anything automatically tastes even better.
We eat with our eyes first. Enjoy!
Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sunflower oil (1 TBS)
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (1 medium onion)
- 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated (1 medium carrot)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (1 clove)
- 1/2 pound lean minced lamb (1 pound)
- 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (1 tsp)
- 2 tsp plain flour (1 TBS)
- 150ml (generous half cup) lamb or vegetable stock (300ml/1 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (1 TBS)
- frozen peas (Optional)
- 1 pound floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2 pounds)
- 2 TBS milk (4 TBS)
- 1 1/2 TBS butter (3 TBS)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 40g (1 1/2 oz) strong white cheddar cheese (50g/2 ounces)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the onion and garlic in it until softened. Add the minced lamb and cook, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until browned.
- Stir in the carrot and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and herbs. Gradually whisk in the stock and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until it bubbles and begins to thicken. Leave to simmer while you do the mash.
- Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender, about 12 - 15 minutes. Drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5
- Return to the pot and shake over the residual heat of the burner to dry out. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in the butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning of the lamb mixture. Pour into the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover with a layer of frozen peas. Spoon the mash over top to cover, roughing the surface up with the back of a spoon or a fork. Sprinkle with the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Spoon out onto heated plates to serve.
This was always one of my father's favourite suppers! He is a simple man with simple tastes and not too hard to please so long as it is not too far out of the ordinary!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Last week we were craving sausage rolls. I don't believe that I had ever tasted a sausage roll prior to coming here to the UK.
My mother used to make weiner rolls when I was growing up. They were something we all loved as a family.
Mom made beautiful plain pastry. It wasn't puff pastry, just plain. All of her pies, etc. were beautiful and we loved them.
When she made weiner rolls she would make her regular pastry recipe and then roll it out. The rolled pastry would be cut into rectangles large enough to wrap around weiners, enclosing them completely.
You can even get Vegetarian ones. Both are wrapped in flaky puffed pastry. Of course you get what you pay for.
The more expensive ones will have a lovely rich and ample meaty filling. Using a quality sausage meat. The cheap ones will be mostly pastry and filled with nasty sausage meat. People seem to enjoy both.
The first time I tasted a homemade one was at my friend Joy's in South Wales. They were magnificent. It truly was love at first bite.
You can find her recipe here. She was really generous and shared it with me. I think she also sent us home with a bag filled with them that visit along with her gorgeous lamb samosas!
This recipe for Apple & Sage Sausage Rolls was one I had clipped from the BBC Good Food Magazine back in 2012. I had saved it in my recipe files to bake one day.
I discovered it while going through them the other day and thought that there would be no time like the present to make them. I had puff pastry and sausage meat in the freezer that I needed to use up.
The directions were a bit ambiguous. I have tried to make them as straight forward as I can, as well as adding my usual North American measurements.
Try to use the best sausage meat that you can afford. I actually did a tutorial on making your own sausages here.
I know you won't be able to get British Sausages in North America. You can however make some tasty sausage meat yourself. I highly recommend it. They are really delicious.
You only need the meat to make the filling for these sausage rolls. It is mixed with chopped fresh sage and apple. I peeled the apple.
I used French all-butter puff pastry that I had in the freezer. If you can find all-butter puff pastry, I really recommend it.
I always think it is best to use natural ingredients whenever you can. I don't like things with artificial ingredients and preservatives. Go as pure as you can.
Apple & Sage Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
- 400g (16 ounces) of sausage meat (from about 6 meaty sausages)
- 1 clove of garlic crushed
- 2 TBS chopped sage
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 pound (500g) all butter puff pastry
- 1 free range egg beaten together wih 1 tsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line several baking trays with baking paper.
- Remove the sausage meat from the skins and crumble into a bowl. Add the chopped sage, garlic and chopped apple. Mix well together.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle. 12 inches wide at the shortest edge. Halve the pastry to make two long thin sheets. Divide the sausage meat down the centre of each, leaving a good border on both sides.
- Beat the egg together with the water. Brush some of this down both long edges of each pastry strip. Fold over the edges to cover the sausage meat, making two long rolls. Seal the edges with a fork.
- Flip over and place pastry seam side down on the baking sheets. Brush more egg wash over top. Cut each roll into six equal pieces. Snip each in a few places and spread them apart on the baking sheets to leave room to rise.
- Cook for 25 minutes until golden brown and puffed.
One thing I will miss about the UK are the lovely sausages they have over here. There are about as many varieties of sausage as there are areas and counties.
Nevermind, they have good ones in Canada as well! There will always be things we miss about the places we have lived.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Apricot & Mustard Glazed Rack of Lamb
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pound rack of lamb, french trimmed
- 1 tsp fine seasalt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 heaped dessertspoon of apricot preserves (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 heaped dessertspoon of grainy Dijon mustard (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced
Instructions:
- Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Spray the foil with some canola cooking spray. Lay the rack of lamb on it. Season on both sides with the salt and pepper.
- Stir together the apricot jam and the mustard. Stir in the thyme and the garlic. Spread 1/3 of this mixture on both sides of the lamb.
- Let the lamb sit for one hour undisturbed until it comes to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F. gas mark 7.
- Spread 1/3 of the remaining apricot jam mixture on the top of the lamb. Place the baking tray with the lamb into the oven and roast for five minutes. Spoon over another 1/3 of the jam mixture. Roast for a further five minutes. Spoon on the remainder of the jam mixture and roast for 20 minutes longer. (50*C/120*F rare) or for 25 minutes (52*C/125*F medium rare) or for 30 minutes (55*C/130*F medium).
- Remove from the oven to a cutting board. Tent lightly with foil and leave to rest for 14 minutes. Cut each portion alotting two ribs per serving size.
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