Friday is Pie day; Shepherd`s Pie.

Featuring that most warming of comfort dishes, the Shepherd`s Pie, and including a comparison between the basic & deluxe version.

The classic Shepherd`s Pie seems simple enough, in it`s most basic form it is nothing more than cooked lamb mince and onions, topped with mashed potato and baked in the oven. There are however, a great number of people who are unable to distinguish between "Shepherd`s and Cottage pie" (Shepherd`s herd sheep and beef farmers do not.)

Whenever Gina and I are in North America or Canada, if we spot a faux Irish pub in the distance we cannot resist taking a look in the window to see if they are serving that seemingly ubiquitous `Irish` dish, Shepherd`s Pie. In every single case, the answer is yes. And in every case the specimen on offer contains ground beef. Somehow the clue in the title is completely lost on some folks. Interestingly, whilst every pub we saw sold a beef pie topped with mashed potato, not a single one served up an Irish stew?

Last Sunday, we visited the Farmer`s Market at Nene Valley school, Gina bought a splendid looking, bone in, shoulder of lamb from Farmer Lou, for that day`s dinner.

While Gina went to open the shop, I prepared the meat for the oven by making a number of deep incisions in the shoulder, and studding each slot with a sliver of fresh garlic, an anchovy fillet and a sprig of Rosemary.

The lamb was then brushed with olive oil and lightly seasoned with sea salt and FGBP. It was then introduced to a slow oven, 150 degrees for 150 minutes.

After dinner that evening, and while the leftovers were still warm, I sliced all of the meat from the bone, it was then sorted and separated. the lean meat and the bone were put aside for the pie and all of the fatty, grisly bits and the connective tissue were presented for Lord Pepper`s approval.

The building of the Pie.

An onion and a couple of carrots are sliced and diced and gently sweated off in a heavy saucepan or casserole in a little oil and butter. Meanwhile, the lamb is coarsely minced. Back in the 1970`s, my mum had a fantastic, heavy, hand-cranked cast iron meat grinder that she would clamp onto the kitchen table to mince up leftovers from Sunday dinner! I have a sharp knife! (as well as various axes and cleavers.)

Once the vegetables are nicely softened and translucent, (5-6 mins.) add the minced meat and thoroughly combine. Now add a heaped tablespoon of plain flour, distribute evenly throughout the meat mixture and allow the flour to cook out for 2 to 3 minutes.

Now add a quarter of a pint of lamb stock and stir vigorously. If the sauce thickens too much. too fast, remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in more stock.

Return the pan to the heat, keep adding the stock and stirring, until the meat is just covered. If you find yourself short of stock, then red wine or dark sweet beer, (Zot Brune.) will both work very well. Stir well and check for seasoning, now bring to a gentle simmer and leave uncovered to thicken, stirring occasionally.

Once the pie filling is thickened enough, remove from the heat and allow to cool a little, at this point, it can be ladled into a baking dish and leveled out.

The Mash.

Mash is mash! make it as simple or as rich as suits you. On this occasion, I had enough gravy in the freezer to add to the lamb, carrots and onions, and so I boiled the lamb bone in with the spuds. (No point in wasting flavour.)

I also poached 6 crushed cloves of garlic in full fat milk to add to the finished mashed potato topping. Simply pour the garlic infused milk, including the garlic into the spuds and mash it all in.

If your pie filling is cool enough, it makes it much easier to shape the topping. When making individual pies, I pile the potato into a mound and use a wide fork to create grooves in the mash. Just before placing the pies in the oven, I brush the topping with melted butter, which helps the pies to develop a browned crust.

Bake for 25-30 mins at 180 degrees. If the topping is not quite golden enough, either turn up the oven,(About 220.) Or turn on the grill, in either case, watch it closely!

Shepherd`s Pies ready for the oven!

Once the Shepherd`s pies have been constructed, they can be left in the fridge overnight and finished in the oven the next day. (But only if fresh meat or mince had been used.)

Shepherd`s Pies. Hot from the oven.

Individual Shepherd`s Pies. Piping hot and golden direct from the oven. A good dousing with melted butter, and a generous grind of mixed peppercorns helps with the appearance.

A robust and slightly decadent, winter warmer of a dish like this, requires a beer that will compliment the rich, earthy flavours.

Gina and I have matched our Shepherd`s Pie with a superb London Export Stout from the Kernal Brewery. Rich dark and 7.9% abv, it beautifully matches the pie's flavour profile.

Cheers Chums!