New Zealand Shepherds Pie Recipes

EASY SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brown meat in large skillet. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.
• Drain meat. Return to skillet; stir in vegetables and gravy. Spoon into 9-inch square baking dish; cover with potato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

TRADITIONAL SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Place potatoes in large saucepan and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and place pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain.
• Return potatoes to the hot pan and set over the same burner. Add milk and 2 tablespoons butter; allow butter to melt from the residual heat. Mash potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in Cheddar cheese, sour cream, egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Heat olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring constantly, until onion begins to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add lamb and beef and cook, crumbling with a spoon and stirring often until browned, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle meat mixture with flour, remaining salt and pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Add beef stock, tomato paste, and Worcestershire; cook, scraping any flavorful bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until thickened and vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in peas. Transfer mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with the prepared mashed potatoes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and bubbly around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes to boiling water and boil for about 15 to 20 minutes, until soft; a knife should go in with almost no resistance.
• In a small saucepan or a microwave oven, heat 6 tablespoons of the butter and milk together until butter melts. Drain potatoes well and return to pot. Using a masher or a ricer, mash hot potatoes until smooth. Mix in the hot butter mixture, just until blended. Stir in the Cheddar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large oven-safe skillet with high sides or an enameled cast-iron braiser (at least 2 1/2-quart capacity) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the beef and the lamb and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until it is no longer pink. (At this point, you can drain off some of the excess fat if you like.) Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the tomato paste and stir, cooking until it is well combined, another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef stock and cook, stirring, until the liquid has thickened slightly. Stir in the parsley and remove the thyme and rosemary stems. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Top the meat mixture with dollops of the mashed potatoes then spread them out over the top. (Or transfer the meat mixture to a 3-quart casserole dish and spread into an even layer, and top with potatoes.) Transfer to the oven and, if the mixture is at the top edges of your pan, set a foil-lined baking sheet underneath the pan to catch any drips. Bake the pie until the potatoes have begun to brown and the edges are bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

NEW ZEALAND SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Brown the mince and garlic in the oil in a hot pan, breaking the mince up into small pieces with wooden spoon or potato masher.
• Add chopped veges, pasta sauce and water, stirring after each addition.
• Bring to a simmer and half cover pot. Cook 10-15 mins or until most of liquid evaporated and veges are soft to touch.
• Spoon mixture into casserole dish and top with mashed potato (you can pipe it or just pile it on and smooth out the top).
• Bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes or until top is golden.
• Suggestions: I add grated cheese, milk and a pinch of green herb seasoning to the potato before mashing, then fill a plastic bag, cut the corner off and pipe it in a nice pattern over the top.

AUSSIE MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 medium finely chopped onion and fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft and translucent.
• Add 14 ounces (400 grams) ground beef and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned. At this point, you can drain the beef, if desired. But it should be quite fat-free if you used lean ground beef.
• In a small container, whisk together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the beef stock and set aside.
• Add remaining beef stock, 1/8 cup tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, and Vegemite or bouillon cube to ground beef in skillet. Stir well to combine.
• Add reserved cornstarch-water mixture and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and cool.
• Heat oven to 425 F (220 C).
• Place pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Place the pie tin on top and cut a circle around it. Repeat process to make 3 more circles-these are the pie tops. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside.
• On the same lightly floured surface, place remaining pie dough and a pie tin on top and cut a circle that's slightly larger than tin (about 1/2 inch bigger)-this is the pie base. Repeat process to make 3 more bases.
• Press base pastry into pie tins and press up the sides. Fill with cooled meat mixture. Brush rims with water.
• Place pie tops over meat. Use a fork to press edges to seal. Trim edges if necessary. Brush tops with beaten egg.
• Place pies on a baking tray to catch any drips and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve with tomato sauce (ketchup).