This St. Patrick’s Day, many faces will be painted with Irish shamrocks, there will be lots of green beer served and the phrase Erin go Bragh will be shouted during St. Paddy’s Day parades by Irish lads and lassies, which in Gaelic means “Ireland to the end of time.”
There’s always the fanfare concerning corned beef and cabbage, the dish typically favored on St. Paddy’s, which comes with a preconception that corned beef is traditionally Irish or that consuming green colored foods is part of St. Patrick’s Day history.
Corned beef isn’t Irish and as for the green part, Ireland is called the Emerald Isle for its lush, green-covered hills.
Ireland is well known for its fresh vegetables, seafood and wonderful breads. It was also a big producer of salted beef for trade and export throughout the 19th century. Irish immigrants arriving in America relied on affordable potatoes and cabbage, which is how corned beef and cabbage got its notoriety. But since beef was too costly, salted pork was used for flavoring.
We already featured corned beef and cabbage last year so let’s turn to an equally Irish dish for St. Paddy’s, the celebrated shepherd’s pie.
As with many dishes, there’s an ambiguous, murky yarn surrounding the origins of a recipe, and shepherd’s pie is no different. There’s the Irish or British conundrum as to where it originated, but it’s actually a traditional Irish dish that was brought to England from Ireland in the early 1500s, when the Brits took over the Emerald Isle. It’s called cottage pie in the U.K. because they use beef and in Ireland since the shepherds tend sheep, it’s shepherd’s pie.
No doubt, the English put out an excellent cottage pie, but in Ireland it used to be a delicacy since the Irish couldn’t afford beef they repurposed any unused veggies and meat. And for special occasions, mutton was used as it was a cheaper option.
That pretty much sums up the story of this humble yet notorious dish, which is one of the most beloved dishes in Ireland and it’s served in every Irish pub around the world.
The prep is moderately easy, where the mash can be placed on the bottom and also added on top to make it even more luscious. Here the oven does most of the work and it freezes exceptionally well.
So, get your shepherd’s pie hat on and make this comforting, deeply rooted Irish dish not only on St. Patrick’s but anytime throughout the year.
Classic Irish Shepherd’s Pie
INGREDIENTS
Potatoes
1 pound of Russet potatoes peeled and quartered
¼ cup of half-and-half or cream
2 TBSP butter
1 bay leaf
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper
Filling
1 onion chopped finely
2 medium carrots diced small
½ cup of celery diced small
1 pound of ground lamb
2 large cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
1 ½ tbsp flour
1 cup or more of chicken broth
1 bottle of Guinness
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp each of dried rosemary and dried thyme
½ cup of frozen baby peas
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400F
Boil potatoes with some salt and bay leaf for about 15 to 20 minutes until tender.
Drain and add to a bowl. Mash with a potato masher, add butter, half-and-half, salt, egg yolk, salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.
While the potatoes boil, add some olive oil to a large frying pan and sauté chopped onion, carrots and celery for about eight minutes on medium. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add ground lamb and cook until browned through. Incorporate the tomato paste, Worcestershire, herbs, flour and cook for a couple of minutes to cook off raw flour taste.
Add the Guinness and cook until almost evaporated. Add stock, reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened — about 15 minutes. Add peas last.
Pour into a 9 by 13 glass baking dish, spread the mash on top and smooth with a rubber spatula. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 25 minutes until the potatoes begin to brown and it is bubbly. Remove to a cooling rack and wait about 15 minutes before serving.
Makes six servings
