How do you make shepherds pie?

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What do you put in it? Any secret ingredients that make it great?

Not tomatoes.

I maintain that shepherds/cottage pie (lamb/beef respectively) needs to be significantly different to spah bol type sauce. So it's a gravy sauce not a tomato sauce.

I've only really ever done it as extra bolognese made up on day 1 and then turned into shepherds pie next day, so mine is usually tomatoey!

From scratch, how do you do yours? Do you cook mince in pan, add onions etc and then add stock to simmer in? or just add gravy straight away?
Do you put in carrots and peas?

lots of onions and garlic.
lamb mince, rosemary
any leftover veg we have (carrots, peas, cauliflowers, sometimes mushrooms, sweetcorn, parsnip, anything really)
huge dollop of mint sauce
bit of bisto, pepper, tiny smidgen of salt,
bit of flour to thicken it up

mash = potatoes + sweet potatoes + any roast potatoes left over from roast... (not that there often are any ). we do ours not exactly 'lumpy' but not smooth like a baby puree (hate super-smooth mash).

Have a look for Gordon Ramsay's Shepherd's Pie recipe. It has grated carrot and rosemary in. I ditch the wine for beef stock as I'm not completely comfortable with giving wine to my 2 year old (yes, i know the alcohol evaporates off but the tanins and things don't)

It's lovely My husband says it's better than his Mum's!!

It's on the channel 4 food website but a Google search should also find it

Ooh, I also add extra veg to the Gordon Ramsay recipe. Pea's at the very least - a good handfull of frozen mixed veg works wonders too if I'm feeling lazy

Agree with all of the above. Not toamtoey and try with leeks and cheese on the top. Yum

Cook the gravy-esque mince sauce for HOURS.
(I do mine for about 3 hrs.)

I hate "dry" shepherd's pie.

Brown the mince in a pan first, then add veg (I usually use carrots), stock and any other flavourings - I use mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce and a little tomato puree.

Into dish, cover with mash, and in my case top with grated cheese (but some think it's a terrible idea )

Oh gosh, I am the opposite. Hate school dinner-y mushy wet 'cooked for hours' gravy. You'd hate ours, lumpy mash and dry mince

Horses for coures, I suppose (not suggesting you add horse meat btw... well... if you want...)

Umlellala- my dp is Italian and would like nothing more than for me to use horse-mince in it!!

AMIScotland- definitely yes with the cheese, loads and loads.....

I fry onion, then add chopped carrots and mince beef cook untill brown.

Then i add a gravy made with granules,pepper and some worcester (sp) sauce and simmer for and hour.

Then i topped with cheesy potatoe (grated cheese mix into the mash) and grated cheese.

Philadelphia in the mash makes it beautifully creamy and cheesy

It absolutely must not contain tomatoes. That is not shepherd's pie.

I fry the lamb mince with onion, tiny chopped up carrots and caugettes, loads of garlic (not authentic but lovely), then add flour to thicken it and stock or water, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

I don't like dry shepherd's pie, so I make a lot of gravy, then put the mince mixture into the pie dish with a slotted spoon so I'm left with about half the gravy, reserve that, top the pie with mash (a mix of sweet potato and potato is really fab), then, after it has cooked and browned in the oven, I serve it with the reserved gravy available in a gravy boat to pour all over it

The mash really shouldn't have cheese in it, if you want it authentic, although I agree it adds a certain yummy rishness

It really needs to be lamb too, not beef.

Shepherd's pie made with beef, tomato, and cheesy mash is really just a potato version of lasagne isn't it! Not shepherd's pie.

I always use beef mince, a few mixed herbs, no tomato, no gravy browning, but plenty of vegetbles (onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms)to give it flavour and pad out the meat. Mash is a mixture of potato and swede. No cheese. Dot butter over the top before baking.

I always use beef mince, a few mixed herbs, no tomato, no gravy browning, but plenty of vegetbles (onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms)to give it flavour and pad out the meat. Mash is a mixture of potato and swede. No cheese. Dot butter over the top before baking.

Lamb, onions, carrots, red wine, thyme, gravy browning, salt pepper, mash with a bit of cheese on. Make sure there's plenty of gravy too.

I get a packet mix from Sainsbos and follow the instructions.

I do like sweet potato in the mash though. Mum puts raisins in hers and its surprisingly nice.

I use beef as don't eat lamb, but otherwise:

fry onion; add mince and brown it;
add grated carrot and apple and chopped mushrooms;v thinly sliced celery
water/stock to cover;
add whatever herbs are growing
bovril
mushroom ketchup
a spoonful of green tomato chutney
worcester sauce.

simmer indefinitely.

Plain mash on top.

I think I know what to make for dinner tonight!

is beef not cottage pie and lamb shepherds?

worcestershire sauce added to the gravy makes it!

NO tomatoes in sight

I was brought up to think that shepherds pie has mash on the top, cottage pie slices of potato overlapped to look like tiles. I know the whole Shepherds = Lamb thing makes more sense, but I don't care!!!

Penelope is right worcestershire sauce is my tip top ingredient too! A nice red wine ...just half a glass in with the meat, will tenderise the mince too. Though 2 tablespoons (per 4 servings) of red wine vinegar or balsamic will work too.

A good mash on top is sooo important. WARM MILK is key. and floury potatoes like Nadine or Rooster.

The slices rather than mash is pretty good idea! may try that tonight...

Made a beef chilli with kidney beans and the like the other day and topped it with sweet potato mash which was excellent!