Shepherd’s Pie with a crisp and buttery dough. Delicious meal for a whole family.
Shepherd’s pie is a juicy beef or lamb pie made with minced meat and with frozen green peas. I tried it first during my life in New Zealand, and it had a dough base and was topped with creamy mashed potatoes. I fell in love with this pie. But since back then I was not really good at making food, all the attempts in making something like this, resulted in failure. Until now.
Also mushrooms are not the usual ingredient that you put in the filling, but they go really well together.
This recipe is made with a crispy dough, but if you like it can also be made without, and topped with mashed potatoes and cheese.
First you need to prepare the dough: In a large bowl combine butter and flour. Mix together until it resembles sand. Make a well in the middle and add the egg and mix with about 1-2 tablespoons of cold water until the pastry begins to bind. Empty onto your work bench and knead gently until it becomes smooth and binds well. Try not to knead too much or too long. Wrap in food wrap and place in the fridge until needed.
Then prepare the beef filling: Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F).
Heat up the oil in a large frying pan over medium – high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and cook until soft and lightly colored. Add the minced beef and fry for about 5-6 minutes, or until the meat has become golden brown.
Add the grated carrots and mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms started becoming soft. Add the frozen peas and thyme, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, broth. Set aside.
Add the flour to the meat mixture and mix well.Add the tomato mix. Mix well.Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.
Take the beef filling off the heat and set aside until needed.
Assemble the pie and bake: Grease a 20 cm cake/pie form.
Take the dough out of the fridge and roll out 2/3 of the pastry into a large circle, big enough to cover your pie form.
Place the rolled out circle into the form, press gently into the sides. The dough circle should be large enough to cover the side of the form.
Fill with the meat filling.
Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry into a large circle, large enough to cover the top of the pie form. This will be the lid. Place the rolled out lid onto the form. Crimp the lid to the base with your thumb or a fork and the cut off the edges.
With the trimmed dough, you can make leaves or shapes to decorate the top of the pie with.
Brush the top of the pie with a lightly beaten egg.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the pie is golden brown and crisp.
Remove the pie from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Caution: the filling of the pie is going to be really hot.
Serve with a side of creamy mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetables.
Enjoy!
Elf’s version of Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- 150 grams butter
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
For the meat filling:
- 500 grams beef, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- 100 grams frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 cup beef broth or stock
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 8-10 button mushrooms, chopped
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
To make the dough:
- In a large bowl combine butter and flour. Mix together until it resembles sand.Make a well in the middle and add the egg and mix with about 1-2 tablespoons of cold water until the pastry begins to bind.Empty onto your work bench and knead gently until it becomes smooth and binds well. Try not to knead too much or too long.Wrap in food wrap and place in the fridge until needed.
To make the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F).
- Heat up the oil in a large frying pan over medium – high heat.Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and cook until soft and lightly colored.Add the minced beef and fry for about 5-6 minutes, or until the meat has become golden brown.
- Add the grated carrots and mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms started becoming soft.
- Add the frozen peas and thyme, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- In a medium bowl combine tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, broth. Set aside.
- Add the flour to the meat mixture and mix well.Add the tomato mix. Mix well. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.
- Take the beef filling off the heat and set aside until needed.
Assemble the pie:
- Grease a 20 cm cake/pie form.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and roll out 2/3 of the pastry into a large circle, big enough to cover your pie form.
- Place the rolled out circle into the form, press gently into the sides. The dough circle should be large enough to cover the side of the form.
- Fill with the meat filling.
- Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry into a large circle, large enough to cover the top of the pie form. This will be the lid.Place the rolled out lid onto the form.Crimp the lid to the base with your thumb or a fork and the cut off the edges.
- With the trimmed dough, you can make leaves or shapes to decorate the top of the pie with.
- Brush the top of the pie with a lightly beaten egg.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the pie is golden brown and crisp.
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Caution: the filling of the pie is going to be really hot.
- Serve with a side of creamy mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetables.Enjoy!
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