Shepherds Pie has to be one of the greatest comfort foods in existence it has it all rich
meat melt in your mouth sweet veg and a creamy smooth layer that will crisp up on top when
cooked just right for my ultimate shepherds pie I have a couple of surprises that make
the most classic dish even better here's how I do it this shepherds pie will serve 8 so
I have one kilo of lamb shoulder diced into chunks I'll season it with salt and pepper
add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large frying pan and fry the lamb until browned all over
do your lamb in batches so there's enough space to brown all the meat evenly once the
meat is done I'll leave two tablespoons of the lamb fat in the pan and start frying the
onions carrots and the leek and I'll just let them soften in the lamb fat absorbing
all the beautiful flavour now the veg have been softening for about 15 minutes and I'm
going to put a bulb of garlic in then I'm gonna add tomato puree to the frying pan raise
the heat leave the onions carrots and leeks to caramelise in the puree you've gotta move
quickly here I add flour to the caramelising vegetables stirring as I go this is gonna
give the sauce a wonderful and smooth viscosity leave that for 1 minute then add white wine
and leave to simmer transfer this with the meat and garlic into a casserole pan with
the stock and herb I'm using bay thyme and rosemary now I'm gonna add a really special
ingredient a mixed spice from the Middle East called ras el hanout which is gonna add so
much more umph to this dish, I'm gonna leave that to cook for two hours on the hob, so
the lamb's been stewing in the casserole dish for an hour I want to show you a special way
to add another dimension of flavour to your shepherds pie I've got merguez sausages here
gorgeously spiced north African sausages, we're gonna skin them and then fry them this
is gonna release a fabulous aroma and give the whole dish loads of bite and they smell
amazing I'll leave these to stew for another hour allowing the spices from the sausages
to immerse within the stew the stew will be rich and the meat will be falling to bits
time to make my cauliflower mash cauliflower goes really creamy and smooth and it just
makes a slightly lighter mash, chop it into smaller chunks and then whiz it in the food
processor I'm looking for rice size pieces of cauliflower again do this in batches my
cauliflower looks perfect so I'm gonna pop it in a large pan on a medium heat add butter
and stock and incorporate stirring for ten minutes or until cooked through once that's
done I put the cooked cauliflower back into the food processor and then blend for a smooth
and creamy mash then season with plenty of salt and pepper, delish time for the best
bit the layering I'm going to tip my stew into a baking dish so many wonderful textures
and spices this one's gonna be out of this world once the stew is level time for some
mash artistry I'm gonna scoop up a large spoonful of mash and with the back of another spoon
I'm gonna layer on the stew and repeat until the whole pie is covered I'm going to create
a texture pattern you can get as creative as you like here but I'm going to go for a
wavy effect this looks fantastic it's going to go into a preheated oven at 200 degrees
for 25 minutes or until it's golden brown and bubbling cor look at that what first hits
you is this wall of spiciness I mean it smells fantastic and then that top's really crisped
up it's really lovely and golden brown and you know the second you stick your spoon into
that it's gonna crack and open up that creamy mash and reveal that scrumptious meat underneath
this is an extraordinary shepherds pie so guys give it a go and then share your pictures
with me with the hashtag #LOVEYOURKITCHEN and if you want to see anymore of the ultimate
recipes then just click in the I above, see you later!