Making shepherd's pie but only have charlotte potatoes...

[alittleteapot]

...which aren't great for mashing. So, am thinking of par boiling and then slicing for top of pie instead of mash. is this a good plan and how can i do it to come off best?

Thanks!

It is a good plan :) I'd slice then blast in the microwave for minimum falling-apartingness! Failing that, slice them really thin and put them on raw, they will cook just fine. Brush with milk or dot with butter; I sometimes do this on top of a casserole. Yum!

Mmm thanks boogeek. I think I'll slice thin and do as you say from raw. How long d'you think they'd need? if i cook the pie for 40 mins at about 200??? (i'm not following a recipe)

I do a "shepherds pie" with sliced potato instead of mash - I cut the potatoes into thick slices and then parboil them for 5 or 10 minutes, as otherwise you either have to cut hot potatoes or wait for them to cool down. And I put a layer of grated cheese on top.....

thanks - boogeek and AMumInScotland how thick shoudl i slice the potatoes for each version, and can i layer the pots on top of each other so there's quite a thick topping of them?

Or you could grate them and do a rosti style topping. I would not cook at 200c though , far to hot in my oven.
I usually cook at 170-180 for 45 mins.

I do them about 1cm thick, and check them with a sharp knife while I'm parboiling them so I can get them once they start to soften. Then I layer them on top of the mince and cook the whole thing for about 30 minutes.

Thanks all. 1cm slices parboiling as i type. will let you know how it goes down tonight! yum yum

Was delicious, and another one for hte freezer.

Sorry, I wandered off :) Glad it worked well! For future ref, I'd do super-thin slices in the food processor if I was going to cook from raw, but you could then pile them up a bit. I guess I'd expect them to cook in about 45 mins- an hour at about 180 or so?

just a ps - i wouldn't do ith with charlottes again, even this way, but it was fine as all i had.

off to make a minestrone soup now!