Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
Debbie Major
Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
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Ingredients
1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and diced
3 tbsp olive oil
100g cooking chorizo, skinned and chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
200g carrots, diced
1 small leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
15g plain flour
600ml lamb or chicken stock
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
4 fresh bay leaves
For the topping
1.2 kg floury potatoes, such as King Edwards, peeled
50g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
100g Manchego cheese, grated
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Prepare to the end of step 5, cooling the filling and mash before assembling. Cover and chill or freeze. Add 10-15 minutes cooking time from chilled
Season the diced lamb. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, flameproof casserole, add half the lamb and fry over a high heat until nicely browned all over. Spoon onto a plate and repeat with the rest of the lamb (you shouldn’t need any more oil for the second batch). Add the chorizo to the casserole and fry briefly until lightly golden. Scoop out to the plate.
Preheat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas 2. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the casserole with the onions and garlic and fry over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Add the carrots, leek and celery and fry for 5 minutes more. Stir in the smoked paprika, tomato purée and flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Gradually add the stock, stirring until smooth. Bring to a simmer and add the thyme, bay leaves, lamb, chorizo and seasoning. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 11⁄2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid from the casserole and cook uncovered in the oven for another 30 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce, by which time the lamb should be meltingly tender and just falling apart. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into large chunks, put into a large pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 minutes until tender then drain into a colander and leave to steam for a couple of minutes.
Melt the butter in the used potato pan, cook the garlic for 1 minute, then mash with the potatoes and parsley, off the heat. Season to taste.
Put a baking tray into the oven and heat to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Season the lamb mixture to taste and spoon into a deep 24cm x 30cm ovenproof baking dish. Spoon over the mashed potatoes, making sure they make a good seal with the edge of the dish. Lightly rough up the surface with the back of a fork and scatter over the grated cheese.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until bubbling hot and golden brown.
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winWin tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, and a night at a four-star London hotel
A dish of shepherd's pie. Cottage pie is made using similar ingredients to shepherds pie - what separates them is the type of meat used. Nationally Cottage pie is made with Beef mince and Shepherds pie is made with Lamb mince.
It originated in the UK and Ireland and is traditionally made with lamb, but in the U.S. it is more commonly made with beef (and referred to as cottage pie). While the original version is made with leftover lamb stew, modern recipes typically call for ground meat, which cooks quickly and doesn't require leftovers.
The concentrated tomatoes disperse and lightly thicken the beef stock. The flour is stirred with the meat and then swells and reduces as the liquid simmers. These add body to the dish, so it's not runny when served.
All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.
If meat is difficult for your loved one to chew, try making a shepherd's pie with lentils instead – an ideal option if you're looking for soft food recipes for the elderly. Cooked lentils have a softer texture and take on flavours well – they're also lower in fat and higher in fibre than beef or lamb mince.
It's called cottage pie in the U.K. because they use beef and in Ireland since the shepherds tend sheep, it's shepherd's pie. No doubt, the English put out an excellent cottage pie, but in Ireland it used to be a delicacy since the Irish couldn't afford beef they repurposed any unused veggies and meat.
The dish originates from the British Isles, but some might argue that it is an Irish dish by origin. The name "Shepherd's Pie" was first recorded in an 1877 cookbook. In this same cookbook, it was noted that the dish was of Scottish origin. During the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, money was very tight.
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier, is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders.
This shepherd's pie recipe uses 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the gravy but if you feel like the meat mixture is too watery, add in another tablespoon and stir to combine. You may also try simmering the mince mixture for longer so that the stock reduces down and thickens.
This ultimate comfort food can be quite unhealthy, with lots of butter in the mash and pushing up your saturated fat intake. Here are a few ideas to make this classic a little healthier and just as tasty.
If the fat melts before a strong gluten structure has formed, the pastry will end up soggy. Overly moist fillings can also contribute to a soggy bottom as the liquid will drop to the bottom of the pie and ooze into the pastry. To ensure crisp pastry, the base can be blind baked before adding the filling.
Allow your pie to bake for the entire recommended period.
People often pull their pie too soon out of fear that it will burn. This leads to runny pie because it prevents the filling from thickening. Check the recommended cooking time, and set a timer. Don't use the brownness of your pie crust to judge if it is done.
Water can be released from your pie filling while cooking in the oven. To avoid turning your pie into a sloppy mess, add flour to the filling or add some nuts to thicken it up, like in our Chicken and Leek Pie. This will help to absorb any excess water while it's cooking and will keep the pastry crispy.
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Prep time: 1 hr
