Food Wishes
Published 5 Mar 2012Learn how to make an Irish Shepherd’s Pie! This recipe is a lovely alternative to the much more common corned beef and cabbage recipe that you may have been planning for dinner. Take things to the next level with some nice Irish cheddar.
St. Patrick’s Day Special: Irish Shepherd’s Pie (the real one, not the stuff they eat in cottages)
I know I may have used a few atypical ingredients in this, but as far as I’m concerned, the only two things that are mandatory to make a “real” Shepherd’s Pie are potatoes and lamb. While the ground beef version is also very delicious, it’s not considered a “Shepherd’s Pie”, since shepherds raise sheep, not cows.
The real mystery is why the beef version is called “Cottage Pie”, and not “Cowboy Pie”, or “Rancher’s Pie”. When I think about cattle, many things come to mind, but cottages aren’t one of them. Okay, now that we have all those search keywords inserted, we can moooo’ve on.
By the way, I know it’s something of a Food Wishes tradition that I do a cheap, culturally insensitive joke about Irish-Americans drinking too much in our St. Patrick’s Day video, but this year I decided not to do any. In fairness, I know hundreds of Irish people, and several of them have no drinking problem whatsoever, so it just didn’t seem inappropriate.
Anyway, as I say in the video, this would make a lovely alternative to the much more common corned beef and cabbage that you may have been planning for dinner. Also, I really hope you find some nice Irish cheddar. I used one called “Dubliner” by Kerrygold, which can be found in most large grocery stores.
If you’re curious about beverage pairings, may I go out on a limb and suggest a nice Guinness, or other Irish beer … just hold the green food coloring, please. Erin go bragh, and as always, enjoy!
Ingredients:
For lamb mixture:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
2 pounds lean ground lamb
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp ketchup
2 1/2 cups water or broth (use more or less to adjust thickness as needed)
12 oz bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed, drained wellFor the potato topping:
2 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 pound Irish cheddar
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tbsp milkDirections
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Place olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in ground lamb and onion; cook and stir until meat is brown and crumbly, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in flour until incorporated. Mix in garlic, ketchup, rosemary, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in water, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring mixture to a simmer; cook and stir until thick, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove lamb mixture from heat, then stir in peas and carrots until combined.
- Spread lamb mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Place potatoes into a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and return potatoes to the pot.
- Mash Irish cheese, cream cheese, butter, and cayenne pepper into potatoes until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Whisk together egg yolk and milk in a small bowl; stir into mashed potato mixture.
- Top lamb mixture in the baking dish with mashed potatoes; spread evenly to cover.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes.
March 17, 2025
How to Make Irish Shepherd’s Pie | Food Wishes
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