Shepherd's Pie

Today I am so excited. Why you ask? Because England has qualified for the round of 16. England being my team, my favourite, this news pleases me and I thought the match was quite good. Their 1-0 victory over Slovenia was well appreciated. Thanks Defoe ans Milner. Oh as well, good game Rooney and way to take that 6 inch off the ground header for the team Terry.

Since they have achieved beautiful success, today's recipe, Shephard's Pie, comes from nowhere else except England.

A super brief history of Shepherd’s Pie, according to my favourite unauthenticated site: Wikipedia:

Cottage pie refers to an English meat pie made with beef mince and with a crust made from mashed potato. A variation on this dish using lamb mince is known as shepherd's pie. Unlike standard pies, cottage or shepherd's pie does not include a bottom pastry crust.
The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until the 1870s,and since then it has been used synonymously with "cottage pie", regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton

In honour of sweet victory, Shepherd's Pie!

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1. Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes)
2. While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan
3. Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4. Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink
5. Add salt and pepper Add Worcestershire sauce
6. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist7. Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
8. Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
9. Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

That's it! Easy!

From me to you

Buon Appetito!

Lisa Rhooms