The Real Shepherd's Pie

Can you really get any better than meat and potatoes? Sure, if you "Brit" it up a bit and bake the works in a hot, gooey, buttery casserole. This 200 year old classic is certainly one of my favourite autumn comfort foods and is easy as........ ah, you thought I was really gonna go there!

I would hazard to guess that, if you're like most people, and me up until a year ago, you've only ever experienced this with beef, which is truly the classic Shepherd's Pie, but Shepherd's Pie with lamb (or more accurately, mutton pie) will take you from that home comfort experience to the next level. So as my year's supply of free-range organic lamb dwindled this past spring, I decided to work on perfecting one of my childhood favourites.

BRAD'S CLASSIC SHEPHERD'S (MUTTON) PIE

(For 4-5) 1 lb ground free-range lamb; 6-7 medium russet potatoes roughly chopped; 1 1/2 cups green peas (preferably fresh, or the larger frozen peas); one white onion finely chopped; 3-4 medium carrots finely diced; 1/2 cup beef stock; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3-4 tbsp unsalted butter; tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; 2 tsp smoked Paprika; Kosher salt; fresh pepper

Prepare a deep baking dish (preferably 8-10 inch) by greasing with butter. Preheat the oven to 375.

Steam potatoes until tender, set aside. In a cast iron or steel skillet, melt a tbsp of butter and sauté onions and carrots until the onions are soft and add the lamb. Season well. Once the lamb is cooked, add the 3/4 cup of the peas and cook for a minute. Then add the flour and stir. Add the tomato paste. Then add just a splash of the stock and scrape the pan to deglaze. Then add the rest of the stock, bring to a boil and and reduce to a simmer for 5-7 minutes or until you like the consistency (should be the thickness of lava). Stir in 1 tsp of the paprika, and spread the mixture in the baking dish.

In a bowl, mash the hot potatoes by hand with the butter. If they're too stiff, add a splash of milk and even some sour cream for even more flavour. It should be creamy. Stir in a good bit of S&P (to taste) and add the rest of the peas. Spread over the meat mixture and grate fresh Parmesan. Sprinkle over the rest of the paprika.

Bake this off for about 20 minutes. If you like a crispy top, pop the temperature to 475 for the last 5 minutes.