Shepherds pie - sides?

[Maloneyb]

What sides would you serve with a shepherds pie?
the mince itself I tend to put carrot, onion, peas and sometimes mushrooms in.

best sides?

Oooh can I ask where you’re from? Salad with roast is a hotly debated, non-compromise matter of culture clash in my house!

I’ve never made Shepherds pie, but would presume it would come with broccoli plus some combo of green/runner beans, kale, cauliflower or carrots.

Anything green that’s not in the actual shepherds pie, so green beans/cabbage/broccoli

I put lots of veg in the actual pie, but I like to have something fresh on the side that breaks up the taste (if that even makes sense 😂)

I do broccoli and honey baked carrots with mine.

Whatever veg is not in it.

Interesting!

I do enough on the HE board and am enough in the public eye, though far from well known, to be slightly vague. A Mediterranean climate, perfect for salad ingredients. I could eat some type of salad every day.

I also have Northern European heritage and my dietary weakness is butter. When moving here I was disappointed that British sandwiches are not lavishly buttered, as I had been led to believe from novels and old cookery books.

Vegetables and a dash of Henderson's Relish.

Sometimes served with a big Yorkshire pudding and extra gravy.

So, my husband is from Cyprus and although his family are all amazing at cooking, I’ve never been able to get past their version of a roast dinner, where you have red meat with salad and no gravy. They always argue with me about the benefits of salad - which I very much like and appreciate - but NOT with Sunday lunch! 😂

Baked beans for us.

I am with your DH on this, @Broccoliisking! I never get my way in the UK, but DH makes the gravy.

I can tolerate gravy with red meat or pork. I do not understand gravy with chicken, which my British family insist on. I do love a bite of hot roast chicken sharing a fork with a dressed salad, however! Or cold chicken with mayonnaise, chutney, sauce verte, salsa, etc.

Always have baked beans with ours.

I'm American and pretty much on the same page with you on all of that, including roast chicken with gravy, although my family loves a madeira jus with it, which I dutifully make but don't eat.

Also serve both buttered savoy cabbage and a salad with mustard vinaigrette with Shepherd's Pie (Delia recipe, so the veg in the pie are onions, carrots and swede, sautéed leeks in the mash).

Cold roast chicken sandwich with salt, pepper, butter, lettuce and cranberries is as perfect a food as ever existed.

Sides aren't necessary but if wanted I would do brocoli and thin green beans for a variety of texture.

Your sandwich sounds delicious, @ocs30

I moved to America before coming here but did not realise that buttered sandwiches were a thing there. I do something very similar to what you describe with leftover roast turkey, but using mayonnaise. I will try your version soon.

Baked Beans!

Oooh, yum! I have to say, I’m not anti-salad when it comes to roast chicken - though would still prefer gravy and veg in the winter. But there’s something that my British genes just can’t manage about salad and roast lamb or pork or beef. 15 years on, and we now do salad (for the Mediterraneans) plus steamed greens and gravy (for the Brits), because a truce can’t be reached. 😂😂😂

goodness no. Why would you cook peas for 20 minutes?

I put onions, celery and tomatoes in the pie, mushrooms if we have any left.

Served with carrots, and peas or brassica.

I don't put peas in mine. Usually serve it with broccoli or sometimes peas.

DH is a total heathen and eats his with ketchup.

peas or baked beans

I don't understand those saying baked beans with SP. It's two sloppy things together? I love shepherd's pie but it's quite a 'wet' texture, so I think a crunchier less mushy vegetable makes a better accompaniment. I like broccoli, or peas, or cabbage (heavy on the butter and black pepper).

My cottage pie is firm.

DD lives cabbage with butter and bacon with virtually anything.

I prefer carrots and peas mixed in rather than separate, but extra gravy to pour over. Rather than mash, squashed potatoes with skins on. Only a small amount of cheese (calcium reduces iron absorption) and small glass of fresh fruit juice to drink with it to maximise the iron in the beef (Vit C helps iron absorption).

This is funny, but my DH would understand, esp your comment about winter food.

In the summer he loves a proper steak salad: essentially slices of grilled sirloin laid lovingly over a mixed green salad, though an actual recipe helps (recipes abound). You might like to try that when it’s nice and warm outside?
With great bread and a nice 🍷