Westcoast Cooking - Northwest Shepherd’s Pie

Northwest Shepherd’s Pie

Thursday, 24 July 2008

A savory lamb stew topped with a “crust” of mashed potatoes, this country dish is a great way to derive a second meal from a roast leg or shoulder of lamb, but Americans so seldom eat lamb that we are not very likely to have leftover roast lamb lying around. So this recipe offers a way to get tender cooked chunks of lamb from which to make the stew. This is a leisurely dish that takes two hours of on again off again attention.
(Serves 6)
For the Lamb:
1 pound lamb shoulder or stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons, or to taste, kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cups lamb or beef broth
1 cup stout or dark beer
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
For the Vegetables:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
1/4 cup flour
1 (15-ounce) can organic diced tomatoes
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
For the “Crust:”
2 pounds (about 2 large) russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

1.) Cook the lamb. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot over medium high heat. Spread the lamb pieces over the surface of the pan and cook, without stirring until the pieces are browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Stir the meat around for a few minutes and try to get a little more color on the meat; it will release some juices which prevent it from browning. Stir in the beef broth, stout, chopped garlic and bay leaf and cook the stew over medium-low heat, until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.
2.) When the lamb is almost tender, prepare the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat and sauté the onion, carrot and celery until the vegetables are beginning to brown. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and continue sautéing until the flour is beginning to color, about 3 minutes. Stir in the canned tomatoes and a ladle full of the broth from around the lamb then stir the vegetables and the chopped parsley in with the lamb. Allow the stew to cook gently while you prepare the potatoes.
3.) Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare the potatoes. Put the cubed potatoes, the water and the kosher salt in a heavy, 1-gallon stockpot over high heat and cook until the potatoes are tender and beginning to fall apart, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes through a colander. Put the drained potatoes back in the stockpot and whisk in the olive oil, mashing the potatoes in the process. Keep whipping until the mashed potatoes smooth and creamy.
4.) Finish and bake the pie. Transfer the stew to a 9 x 12 x 2-inch baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the stew. Use a fork to make even ridges over the surface f the potatoes then bake until the filling is boiling around the edges and the potatoes are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let the pie rest for 5 or 10 minutes before spooning into it. Serve it directly from the pan.

Copyright, Greg Atkinson, 2007