John Whaite is a British food writer, television presenterand cookery school owner. He won series three of The Great British Bake Off andhas released several cookbooks.
See more of John Whaite’s recipes
John Whaite
John Whaite is a British food writer, television presenterand cookery school owner. He won series three of The Great British Bake Off andhas released several cookbooks.
See more of John Whaite’s recipes
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Ingredients
50g unsalted butter
4 cloves
2 tsp cumin seeds
½ cinnamon stick
2 dried bay leaves
4 black peppercorns
2 onions, very finely chopped
1 carrot, very finely chopped
40g ginger, finely grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 litre fresh chicken stock
1 tbsp garam masala
2 x 250g pouches cooked Puy lentils
250g lamb mince
250g frozen garden peas, defrosted
For the sag aloo top
1kg Desiree or other red-skinned potatoes, skin on and cut into 2.5cm cubes
1 tbsp sunflower oil
50g unsalted butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
200g baby leaf spinach
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Prepare to the end of step 3, cool, cover and chill for several hours or up to a day ahead. Add 10 minutes cooking time from chilled..
Heat a large frying pan or shallow casserole over a medium high heat and, once hot, add the butter, cloves, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and peppercorns. Fry, stirring frequently, until the bay leaves start to crackle and there is a strong spice aroma – about 2 minutes. Add the onions and carrot and continue to fry, tossing the pan every so often, for 5 minutes, just until the vegetables are hot – there’s no need to cook them until they soften, provided you chopped them finely enough.
Mix in the ginger, garlic and tomato purée and fry for a further minute, just until the garlic smells strongly. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by a third. Add the remaining ingredients and a pinch of salt, stir to mix well and put into a baking dish, removing the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. For the sag aloo top, put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover them with cold water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, boil for 10 minutes, then drain. Put the oil and butter into the frying pan and set over a high heat. Once the butter melts, add the spices and fry until the mustard seeds pop. Add the potatoes and 200ml water. Cook until the water evaporates (3-4 minutes), stirring as they cook. Add the spinach, turn off the heat, and allow the spinach to wilt for a few minutes. Pile the sag aloo on top of the lamb filling.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is bubbling. If the potatoes start to burn before the filling is ready, cover the dish with foil.
Recipes taken from Comfort by John Whaite (Kyle Books, £19.99).
Chef quote
‘Shepherd’s pie is the ultimate comfort food – but rather than give you the regular version we know and love, I’m making it with Indian spices.’
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winWin tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, and a night at a four-star London hotel
Shepherd's pie was attributed to a similar Scottish dish that used lamb or mutton rather than beef. Shepherd's herded sheep, hence the name. The textured, mash potato topping also resembles the woolly fleece of a sheep.
Bake: Place in a 400°F oven and cook until browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. If necessary, broil for the last few minutes to help the surface of the mashed potatoes brown. (Be careful when broiling using Pyrex or glass dishes, they have been known to shatter under the high heat of the broiler.
Shepherd's Pie is the sort of food that brings a smile to everyone's face! That saucy, deeply flavourful filling, that creamy potato topping, and that awesome golden cheese crust.… While Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with lamb, beef is just as tasty in this recipe.
Sometime in the 18th century, a dish called “cottage pie” came about somewhere in the vast expanse of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It seems to have originated as a way for folks to make use of leftovers, in order to avoid waste, both of the food and money varieties.
Many people believe that the peasant housewives invented the pie as an easy way to repackage leftovers from their Sunday roast. The Shepherd Pie is thought to originate from Ireland and the northern parts of England.
The dish originates from the British Isles, but some might argue that it is an Irish dish by origin. The name "Shepherd's Pie" was first recorded in an 1877 cookbook. In this same cookbook, it was noted that the dish was of Scottish origin. During the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, money was very tight.
Traditionally, shepherd's pie is made with lamb mince, vegetables and mashed potato. The meat is added to an aromatic combination of softened carrot, onion and celery, known in French cooking as a mirepoix, which is then loosened up with stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and bay leaves to make a tasty gravy.
Traditional in Britain, a Cottage Pie referred to a beef layer topped with slices of potato (recreating the tiles of a cottage) and a shepherds pie referred to a lamb layer with mash on top.
How do you keep shepherd's pie from falling apart? Make sure your casserole dish is the right size. You should also have firm mashed potatoes so it won't fall apart when you're serving. As you put the topping on, don't press too hard, using a gentle touch to smooth it out.
shepherd's pie, dish of British Isles origin that makes use of vegetables and chopped meat cooked in a casserole topped with or surrounded by mashed potatoes.
Why is my Shepherd's Pie soupy? If your casserole is too runny, chances are you either didn't add enough flour to thicken the gravy or you didn't simmer it long enough to reduce the liquid. Also, make sure your potatoes are thoroughly drained before making the mashed potatoes, so the topping is not too sloppy.
The main difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's pie is cottage pie uses ground beef, and Shepherd's pie uses ground lamb. Both pies are cooked with vegetables and gravy and baked under a layer of mashed potatoes. To make Shepherd's pie using this recipe, simply substitute ground lamb.
According to Stevens, the unusual name of shoofly pie came from “the fact that pools of sweet, sticky molasses sometimes formed on the surface of the pie while it was cooling, inevitably attracting flies.” She suggests the pie's invention stems from Pennsylvania Dutch farm wives making do with what remained in the ...
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Prep time: 30 mins
