I thought of you when I read this London recipe this morning:


* Exported from MasterCook *

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Recipe By :The House (Gastropub), London, UK
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
FILLING:
4 lamb shanks
salt and pepper
vegetable oil -- for frying
2 large onions
2 large carrots -- peeled, topped and tailed
2 celery sticks
4 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
chicken stock -- to cover
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley -- finely chopped
FOR THE MASH TOPPING:
3 large red potatoes -- peeled
5 1/2 fluid ounces double cream
4 unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc/350ºf/gas mark 4.

2. Season the lamb shanks well. Heat a little vegetable oil in a hot frying
pan, then brown the lamb all over.

3. Put the shanks in a large casserole with the whole vegetables, garlic,
bay leaf and thyme, and cover with chicken stock.

4. Place a round of greaseproof paper on top of the meat and vegetables and
put in the oven to braise for 2 1/2-3 hours, until the meat is falling off
the bones.

5. Remove the meat and vegetables from the stock and pick out the sprigs of
thyme. Bring the stock to the boil and reduce by about two-thirds.

6. Pick the meat off the bones and flake. Cut the vegetables into small
pieces and put both meat and vegetables in a bowl with the reduced stock and
chopped parsley. Check the seasoning, then transfer to a shallow ovenproof
dish.

7. Cook the potatoes until tender, drain and let them rest for 3-4 minutes.
In a small saucepan, slowly bring the cream and butter to the boil. Remove
from the heat. Mash the potatoes, adding the hot cream and butter mixture,
and season. Pipe or spread the mash on top of the meat, then cook in the
preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the mash is golden brown. Serve.

Source:
""Visit Britain""

Dora

"limey" > wrote in message

>I thought of you when I read this London recipe this morning:
>
(snip shepherd's pie recipe)

Just to make the plot thicker, I just looked up my mother's English
"Elizabeth Craig's Household Library - Cookery", published in 1948. And
what does Elizabeth say?

"Shepherd's Pie -
(first item) 1 lb. cooked meat

Absolutely no mention of which meat.
At the end, she says, "1. This dish is sometimes called Cottage Pie.
2. Uncooked minced meat can be substituted for the cooked meat if liked,
but it should be fried lightly in the fat with the onions before using."

All that is the way I remember it.

Dora

limey > wrote:

> "limey" > wrote in message
>
> >I thought of you when I read this London recipe this morning:
> >
> (snip shepherd's pie recipe)
>
> Just to make the plot thicker, I just looked up my mother's English
> "Elizabeth Craig's Household Library - Cookery", published in 1948. And
> what does Elizabeth say?
>
> "Shepherd's Pie -
> (first item) 1 lb. cooked meat
>
> Absolutely no mention of which meat.
> At the end, she says, "1. This dish is sometimes called Cottage Pie.
> 2. Uncooked minced meat can be substituted for the cooked meat if liked,
> but it should be fried lightly in the fat with the onions before using."
>
> All that is the way I remember it.

See <http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#shepherdspie>.

Victor

"limey" > wrote in message
...
>
> "limey" > wrote in message
>
>>I thought of you when I read this London recipe this morning:
>>
> (snip shepherd's pie recipe)
>
> Just to make the plot thicker, I just looked up my mother's English
> "Elizabeth Craig's Household Library - Cookery", published in 1948. And
> what does Elizabeth say?
>
> "Shepherd's Pie -
> (first item) 1 lb. cooked meat
>
> Absolutely no mention of which meat.
> At the end, she says, "1. This dish is sometimes called Cottage Pie.
> 2. Uncooked minced meat can be substituted for the cooked meat if liked,
> but it should be fried lightly in the fat with the onions before using."
>
> All that is the way I remember it.
>
> Dora

As far as my memory for history lessons goes, the original shepherds pie was
made with whatever meat, or meats he could get either from his own flock or
by trading with cattle or pig farmers, and the spuds he got from trading
with farmers.

Seth.

http://www.easychineseathome.co.uk

Following up to limey

>I thought of you when I read this London recipe this morning:
>
>
>* Exported from MasterCook *
>
> SHEPHERD'S PIE
>
>Recipe By :The House (Gastropub), London, UK
>-------- ------------ --------------------------------
> FILLING:
> 4 lamb shanks

Phew!

Quite a nice recipe by the look of it.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap
Photos of both "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

Following up to Victor Sack

>See <http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#shepherdspie>.

that agrees with Davidson, Grigson and Larousse.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap
Photos of both "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

>>4 lamb shanks

That recipe made me envision meadows filled with legless and
handicapped lambs being herded by a fat shepherd.

"Judith Umbria" wrote in message >>>4 lamb shanks
>
> That recipe made me envision meadows filled with legless and
> handicapped lambs being herded by a fat shepherd.

That's comical! I'm pretty amused by the recipe - at home, it was usually
our way to use up the leftovers (or, as my mother called them for some
unknown reason, "the awful". I could never understand how something so good
on Sunday could be "awful" on Monday.

Dora

In article >,
The Reid > wrote:

> Following up to Victor Sack
>
> >See <http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#shepherdspie>.
>
> that agrees with Davidson, Grigson and Larousse.

What's important is that it agrees with Bubba. "-)
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-7-05 with the first story
about our trip to San Francisco for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend.

"Giles Todd" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 14:46:51 -0500, "limey" > wrote:
>
>> "Shepherd's Pie -
>> (first item) 1 lb. cooked meat
>>
>> Absolutely no mention of which meat.
>
> For what it's worth, Marguerite Patten's 'The Victory Cookbook' says
> much the same. There was little point in being too picky about
> specifying in recipes the sort of meat to cook with in the UK in 1948.
> You cooked with what was available. There wasn't a lot of choice.
>
> Giles

And you probably didn't use a pound of it!

Dora

"John Ewing" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 02:01:54 +0100, Giles Todd >
> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 14:46:51 -0500, "limey" > wrote:
>>
>>> "Shepherd's Pie -
>>> (first item) 1 lb. cooked meat
>>>
>>> Absolutely no mention of which meat.
>>
>>For what it's worth, Marguerite Patten's 'The Victory Cookbook' says
>>much the same.
>
> There's a similar discussion going on in alt.fan.pratchett at the
> moment. There it is stated that the meat is "the lamb's ********".
>
> HTH :-)
>
> John

Oh, dear. Judith, are you reading this? Those poor sheep.

Dora

What my mother used to use for Sheperd's Pie (She was born and raised in
Dartford, Kent UK)

Was a mixture of Beel, and Pork mostly (like a meatloaf mix), and while
cooking down the Meat, would add a couple of Cubes of Beef Oxo. Oxo does
also come in Lamb Flavor also.

For Steak and Mushroom, or Steak and Kidney Pie, the Beef Oxo Cubes is
still the very best thing to use. There's no comparable substitute.
Mark

"Mark D" > wrote in message
...
> What my mother used to use for Sheperd's Pie (She was born and raised
> in
> Dartford, Kent UK)
>
> Was a mixture of Beel, and Pork mostly (like a meatloaf mix), and
> while
> cooking down the Meat, would add a couple of Cubes of Beef Oxo. Oxo
> does
> also come in Lamb Flavor also.
>
> For Steak and Mushroom, or Steak and Kidney Pie, the Beef Oxo Cubes is
> still the very best thing to use. There's no comparable substitute.

Yeughhhhhhhhh Oxo in dishes makes them taste of nothing but Oxo