Shepherd's pie

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Shepherd's pie or cottage pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.

The recipe can vary widely. The defining ingredients are minced meat (commonly beef when named cottage pie or lamb when named shepherd's pie), typically cooked in a gravy with onions and sometimes other vegetables, such as peas, celery or carrots, and topped with mashed potato. The pie is sometimes also topped with grated cheese.

Video Shepherd's pie

Etymology

The term cottage pie was in use by 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers). The term shepherd's pie did not appear until 1854, and was used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the meat was beef or mutton. In the United Kingdom, the term shepherd's pie is now commonly used when the meat is lamb.

Maps Shepherd's pie

History

In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top.

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Variations

Other mashed-potato-topped pies include:

• The modern Cumberland pie is a version with either beef or lamb, and a layer of breadcrumbs and cheese on top. In medieval times (and modern-day Cumbria) the crust was pastry, and the filling was meat with fruits and spices.
• A St. Stephen's Day pie is made using turkey and ham.
• A fish pie is another British dish of fish and seafood in sauce topped with mashed potato.
• In Quebec, a variation of the dish is called Pâté chinois. It is made with ground beef on the bottom layer, canned corn in the middle, and mashed potato on top.

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See also

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References

Source of article : Wikipedia