You can’t go wrong with shepherd’s pie!

No one has mentioned frozen peas on top of the mince before putting on the mash.

I mix the peas in…same with sliced carrots

On the odd occasion that I top cottage pie with cauliflower, I don’t mash it. I cut it into fairly small florets before cooking, then, when drained, add coconut oil and a little curry powder, then spread on top.

Witzend

AJW56

I enjoy reading Gransnet but the abbreviations drive me nuts. Is there a key anywhere? For example: DD, DS1, D2…I was even trying to work out YUK!

Dear Daughter, Dear Son1, and Dh is for Dear/Dratted Husband. Etc.
Are you new to such forums? These have been used for at least 20 years. However I do recall being bemused by dh at first, ages ago - who was this dh they kept mentioning? Dopey Herbert? Dozy Harry? But I soon worked it out.

There used to be a list of the acronyms that are often used on the forum, with their meanings, but that has now been shortened to an assurance that you will soon get to know them. Not much help!! Here are a few for relatives:-
DH = Dear husband (sometimes damned rather than dear)
DW = Dear wife (ditto)
DD = Dear daughter (ditto)
DS = Dear son (ditto)
DS1 = Eldest son (also DD1, DS2, DD2, etc)
GS = Grandson (also GD, GS1, etc)
MiL = Mother-in-law
FiL = Father-in-law
SiL = Son-in-law or Sister-in-law
BiL = Brother-in-law
If you can't work out what the acronym means, just ask. Someone will tell you.

'As a fussy child I hated carrots, I think my mother’s version had onions and possibly baked beans, Bisto or perhaps Marmite for flavour, very little gravy as my father loathed “wet” food (as he called any sauce). She didn’t use lentils, nor any other root vegetables, but I’ve never managed to replicate the taste of hers.'

My DS wouldn't eat carrots as a child so I grated the carrot in along with finely diced celery which evryone said they didn't like, but happily ate if well hidden with the onion. As a teenager he eventually asked what the orange bits were and was quite shocked to learn he'd been regualarly eating carrot this way for years. He now eats pretty much everything but his children are much more fussy than he was. Hopefully they will get more adventurous as they get older. The essential for me is a dash of worcestershire sauce in the meat and veg mix. I haven't made cottage pie for ages as I went off it when I was prescribed ozempic for my diabetes. This thread has made me fancy it again. I'll have to give it a try again next time I shop and can get some mince. Trouble is, living alone it isn't ideal as I can't get small enough quantities of mince for a small one, so need to make room in my small freezer or eat it quite a few times in quick succession!

I always add a tin of mushy peas to the mince and vegetable mixture, bulks it out and makes the gravy lovely.

I've never heard of baked beans going into the mix for shepherd's pie.

As a child, I didn't really like it, since the potatoes touched the meat... I liked everything separate, and eaten one at time!

Now I love it, but still have a tendency to separate the potatoes once they are on my plate!

Have to be honest even the thought of this makes me want to gag. Mashed potato, reminds me of school dinners and care homes. yuk

When we have a leg of lamb on a Sunday, DH uses left overs to make 2 shepherd's pies and I use any other bits to make rissoles. I bought a leg of lamb for tomorrow which looks like an extravagance for the two of us but we get 5 lovely meals from it. Love his shepherd's pie.

I'm cooking a cottage pie tomorrow, I'll bulk it out with a tin of mixed veg, and have carrots, mashed swede, cabbage and sprouts with it. Mashed potato on top must be browned and slightly crunchy 😉. Nice thick gravy. Mmm 😋.

I top my cottage or shepherds pie with grated cheese and sliced tomato. I hope everyone enjoys their version of cottage or shepherds pie

Like the sound of that💐

I top my cottage or shepherds pie with grated cheese and sliced tomato.

Readhead56 my Mum used to do that with her fish pie. Sounds like a good topic for another thread!! 😋

JackyB

You can't get lamb here in Germany except at Easter, let alone minced lamb. The default here is mi,ed mincemeat with, I suspect, more pork than beef.

I have always made it with minced beef and it has always been a family favourite. Recently we were all together at DS1's and he made three huge dishes between 11 of us.Two were mincemeat, one vegetarian with soya-based mincemeat. They all got eaten with alacrity.

It's a great way to use up vegetables left in the fridge and if you cut them up tiny or grate them, you can smuggle them on to the kids' plates as well.

In Flensburg, the hallal butcher has lamb all year round, and would doubtless mince the meat, if I asked him to.

If there is a hallal butcher near you, Jackie, that might be the answer to your problem.

In Denmark too, supermarkets and butchers only have lamb around Easter.

I dislike minced beef, and always use minced pork in my Shepherd's pie and refuse on principle to call it cottage pie, as that to me is m ade with a pie crust, not with mashed potatoes.

After reading this thread I made a lovely cottage pie, topped with cauliflower (I’d never heard of doing the topping that way). It was delicious and lasted me two days.

Pushed for time one day I used Quorn mince, frozen chopped onions & instant gravy. Cooked all that in the microwave for 14 minutes. Added cooked peas & carrots, cooked in the microwave again. Idohoan mash on top. Popped into the oven to brown.
After DD & DC had devoured it I asked them if they enjoyed it. They all said it tasted the same as usual 🤦🏼 Why had I bothered all the years doing it the traditional way? 😅

Home made Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie are firm favourites for me. Shop bought one's are never the same.
I can't bear baked beans or peas in mine. I'll happily have onions, mushrooms and carrots in Cottage Pie but I only like onions in with Shepherd's Pie as the taste of lamb is lovely and I prefer to have it as the dominant taste.

Mollygo How about ‘cock’ pie! 🤣

Silvertwigs

Mollygo How about ‘cock’ pie! 🤣

😄😄

I read all the posts. on shepherd's pies yesterday, made me hungry, so I made one today, hadn't had one for ages. when I mashed the potatoes I added milk pepper and salt,put in the oven till they turned crispy on top, wow did we enjoy it ...

Just made a veggie one for tea. I roasted loads of veg first in the air fryer- including plum tomatoes. Mixed it all with a bit of veggie stock, some plant based mince and seasoning- lots of smoked paprika, salt and pepper, marmite, brown sauce. I also chuck in some tinned cherry tomatoes. Finally I stirred in some frozen spinach and peas. Mustard mash on top finished with grated cheese and sliced toms. Just about to put it in the oven. No extra veg as there’s so much I it, so well have it with crusty bread and some pickled beets 😋

Nell82

For something different Google "Nigel Slater's shepherd's pie with spiced parsnip mash recipe". It's a favourite with us and would work with lamb or beef mince.

I just looked that up, it looks delicious!

My mother also used to make Shepherds's Pie with left over lamb, using what was left of her delicious gravy. I don't know how she got one joint to stretch so far, we had a roast, then cold with jacket potatoes on Monday, then the pie. We were a family of four, so 12 meals from one joint.
She was a really great cook, my own version isn't nearly as tasty but I've no idea why, I watched her make it often enough. She often added Marmite instead of salt.
Personally I don't like it much when made with fresh mince as opposed to left over roast, bought mince is often very fatty.

I once made 2 huge sh pies, and 2 huge macaroni cheeses for after my FILs funeral on a cold dismal January day, when I had no idea how many people would be coming back to the house. Thank goodness it was just about right for the 2 dozen-ish who came. All went down v well. 🙂

Better than a ham sandwich and a sausage roll! 😉