Slow-cooked Spanish-style shepherd’s pie recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between shepherd's pie and pate chinois? ›

Unlike Shepherd's Pie, which uses lamb, the traditional Pâté Chinois is made solely with beef, but I like half pork and half meat mixed. This is up to you; let your inner chef shine here! I added a soft onion and a tad of garlic to the meat, this last one, not in the traditional version either.

Classic shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies like peas, corn, celery, and carrots. Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? Avoid a soggy pie by simmering the meat mixture for at least 8 minutes. Be sure to cook down the mixture to remove excess moisture.

Cottage pie is made using the same or very similar ingredients to shepherds pie. Nationally Cottage pie is made with Beef mince and Shepherds pie is made with Lamb mince. The name "cottage pie" was first used at the end of the 18th century.

The two English terms have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd's pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.

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.

Most workers ate their meat, potatoes and corn separately but workers of mainly Asian origins, combined their rations to create shepherd's pie, a more communal dish. The French-Canadian railway workers liked this new concoction, adopted the dish, and called it “pâté chinois”, which loosely translates to Chinese pie.

Residual moisture from the potatoes will drip into the beef below as it cooks, and too much of it will cause the potatoes to eventually sink. Aside from ridding your potatoes of excess moisture before you mash them, it also helps to cool the beef down, BBC Good Food shares.

The easiest way to thicken shepherd's pie filling is by sprinkling a few tablespoons of flour into the ground beef mixture as it cooks before adding it to the baking dish. The starch in the flour will absorb the extra liquid and create a thick gravy.

To stop the mash sinking into the filling, allow the meat to cool before topping with the mashed potato. Freeze in individual ovenproof dishes for an easy meal for one.

The dish originates from the British Isles, but some might argue that it is an Irish dish by origin. The name "Shepherd's Pie" was first recorded in an 1877 cookbook. In this same cookbook, it was noted that the dish was of Scottish origin. During the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, money was very tight.

What is Norfolk pie? ›

"This is a very old English pumpkin pie recipe from Norfolk in East Anglia; it would have been known as Norfolk million pie - million being the old English word for a melon, marrow, pumpkin or any kind of gourd or squash.

Succulent beef mince combined with carrot, leek, onion, and peas in a thick, richly flavoured gravy. Topped with smooth, creamy mashed potato for a delicious midweek meal.

This shepherd's pie recipe uses 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the gravy but if you feel like the meat mixture is too watery, add in another tablespoon and stir to combine. You may also try simmering the mince mixture for longer so that the stock reduces down and thickens.

Shepherd's pie comes to us from England, and is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Here in the states we are more of a beef eating culture than a lamb eating one, and when one is served "shepherd's pie" here, it is most often made with ground beef.

First of all, the pâté chinois is the same as hachis parmentier except for 2 differences: 1) the pâté chinois has a layer of kernel corn between the meat and the potatoes 2) the pâté chinois does not include Lyonnaise sauce often found with the parmentier.

The dish is made with layered ground beef (sometimes mixed with sautéed diced onions) on the bottom, canned corn (either whole-kernel, creamed, or a mixture) for the middle layer, and mashed potatoes on top. Seasonings may be added to the top.

It should be noted that these were originally two different dishes that had a few similarities. For example, shepherd's pie contained ground lamb, while cottage pie contained beef. Over time, ground beef became the filling of choice, and lamb was used less frequently. Thus, these two names were used interchangeably.

Many people believe that the peasant housewives invented the pie as an easy way to repackage leftovers from their Sunday roast. The Shepherd Pie is thought to originate from Ireland and the northern parts of England.