Angelbear233Shepherd's Pie with Cheese-crusted Leeks
This recipe can be made with either fresh minced lamb (shepherd's pie), fresh minced beef (cottage pie) or minced leftover beef or lamb from a cooked joint (in which case, cut the initial cooking time to 15 mins). In the following recipe we're using fresh minced lamb, and what puts this dish in the five-star category is the delicious crust of cheese and leeks. Serves 4
1 lb (450 g) minced British lamb ;1 tblspn olive oil ;
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped ;
3 oz (75 g) carrot, peeled and chopped very small;
3 oz (75 g) swede, peeled and chopped very small ;
1/2 level teaspoon ground cinnamon ;1 tspn chopped fresh thyme ;
1 tblspn chopped fresh parsley ;1 level tblspn plain flour;
10 fl oz (275 ml) fresh lamb stock; 1 level tblspn tomato purée;
salt and freshly milled black pepper ;
For the topping:
2 oz (50 g) mature Cheddar, coarsely grated;
2 medium leeks, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices ;
2 lb (900 g) Desirée or King Edward potatoes; quark.milk
2 oz (50 g) butter; salt & freshly milled black pepper .
Start off by peeling the onion, swede & carrots,
chop them into chunks and place them into the bowl
of a food processor. Then add cinnamon, herbs & flour & whiz everything until it's all finely chopped (be careful, though,
you don't want to end up with a purée). Now place the lot in the casserole, add lamb and give it all a good seasoning.
Next mix tomato purée & stock together in a jug,
stir this into casserole and give it all a good mix.
Place the casserole over gentle heat and bring it up to
simmering point. Cover with lid and place it in the pre-heated
oven on the centre shelf to cook for 2 hours.
About 30 mins before the time is up, peel potatoes,cut them into
even-sized chunks and place them in a saucepan. Pour boiling
water over, add some salt, cover and simmer for 20-25 mins or
until they're tender when pierced with a skewer.
After that, drain the potatoes, cover with a clean tea
cloth for 5 mins to absorb the steam, then, start to mash potatoes
(an electric handheld whisk on slow speed is best for this), gradually adding the quark, milk and seasoning of salt & freshly milled black pepper and continue to whisk until the potatoes are light & fluffy.
At this point remove casserole from oven & increase temperature
to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C). Transfer meat to dish &
cover evenly with mashed potato.
Now slice the leek lengthways into four and chop each
length into 1/4 inch (5 mm) slices. Rinse & dry them,then
cover potato with chopped leek, pressing them gently into surface. Finally cover leeks with grated Cheddar & sprinkle with Parmesan. Return dish to oven on high shelf for 25 mins or top is golden & crusty.
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From: Angelbear233 Sent: 20/05/2004 11:17 a.m.
From: 1stmate_auntm Sent: 8/04/2003 12:42 a.m.
The mince for this version is not cooked in fat or oil but braised in the oven, and the potato topping is mixed not with cream but with our old friend quark.
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