Shepherd-style meat pie or Shepherd's pie

These pies that Miriam brings us today, author of El Invitado de Invierno, will delight you with their tasty combination and how easy they are to prepare. Also, you can make them in mini format as shown here, or in a single large dish. Don't miss it!

This shepherd's pie is a typical British dish that consists of a base of chopped meat with vegetables, topped with a layer of mashed potato that is browned or toasted. It's very easy to make and was usually a dish of frugality, used to make the most of leftover roast meat from Sunday.

Shepherd's pie is traditionally made with leftover roast lamb, but if you're such big eaters that there are no roast leftovers in your house, you only need to make a roast lamb specifically to make shepherd's pie. Stranger things have been seen.

And know that if you don't use lamb, but beef for example, purists will tell you that strictly speaking you can't call it shepherd's pie. But I won't tattle.

Although this meat pie is usually made in a large baking dish (surely in the Bakeware dishes section you'll find a nice one), we've opted to make adorable mini shepherd's pies in pretty ceramic cocottes. Don't say the pie doesn't look cute.

Ingredients

• ½ kg of milk-fed lamb (leftovers or prepared specifically)
• 1 large onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 75 g of peas
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch of thyme
• 300 ml of water
• 250 ml of white wine or meat stock
• 750 g of peeled potatoes
• water
• 80 g of butter or coconut oil
• salt to taste
• 100 g of Cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the olive oil in a large frying pan. Ideally do it in butter, or you can also use coconut oil, and both options give it a different and equally wonderful flavor, but this way we make the dish more heart-healthy, ahem. Although if you like you can use a mix of oil and butter. When the onion begins to become translucent, add the carrot cut into small cubes.
2. While the vegetables are sautéing, chop the meat. Add it to the sauté and pour in the wine or stock. Add the cooked peas.
3. Add the bay leaf and thyme, and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes, so the meat absorbs the flavor and the liquid reduces. Salt and let cool. Transfer this mixture to the dish we want to use for the oven, in our case to the oval mini cocottes.
4. To prepare the topping mash, boil the potatoes or steam them. When tender, pass them through a ricer. Add the butter and salt.
5. When the mash has cooled a little, transfer it to a piping bag with a star tip, although if you don't want to use a bag the mash can be spooned over the meat filling.
6. Cover all the meat with the mash and sprinkle the grated cheese. Put the cocottes in the oven at 200° (with fan) / 210° (without fan) until you see the mash is toasted, about 20-25 minutes depending on each oven.
7. Serve these cute individual shepherd's pies immediately, always with a good little wine, although this is not very British.

Le Creuset oval mini cocottes and Emile Henry ceramic plate