Lamb Shepherd's Pie

A slice of lamb pie topped with mashed potatoes.

This Lamb Shepherd's pie is comfort food at its best. Tender chunks of lamb, carrots, and potatoes are cooked in a savory, brothy stew before being added to a casserole dish. The casserole is topped with rich, creamy mashed potatoes and baked until golden brown.

Egg yolks are added to the mashed potatoes to give them a rich, silky flavor and a firmer texture, so they hold up well on top of the stew.

You can use chunks of raw lamb or leftover lamb roast. If you start with raw lamb, you will want to simmer the stew a little longer to give it time to tenderize.

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time: 50

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: servings

Calories: 613kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Stew

1-½ pounds lamb raw or cooked leftovers
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 yellow onion chopped
4 carrots peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups beef broth
3 russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 cups)
2 large fresh bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves

For the Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds of russet potatoes peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the Stew

Trim the fat from the lamb and cut it into half-inch chunks. If you are starting with leftover cooked lamb, skip to step 4.
Sprinkle the chunks of raw lamb with salt and pepper. Add some cooking oil to the bottom of a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat.
Working in batches, add the chunks of raw lamb and sear until golden brown on all sides. Try not to add too much to the pot at once or the meat will only steam instead of sear. Remove the lamb from the pot and place on a plate. Set aside for later.
Add a splash of cooking oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 or 5 minutes until the onions get soft.
Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes to get the raw flavor out of the flour. Stir in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce.
Add the beef broth and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.
Add the cubes of lamb meat (either the leftover lamb or the freshly seared lamb). Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cover the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes if using leftover lamb or 60 to 90 minutes if you started with raw lamb. (You want to give the lamb enough time to get tender and cooked leftover lamb has a head start on the process).
Discard the bay leaves. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the stew to a 9x13-inch, oven-proof dish.

For the Mashed Potatoes

Meanwhile, add the quartered potatoes and salt to a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and allow the potatoes to simmer uncovered until cooked through about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how large you slice the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, and stir them over the heat for a couple of minutes to dry them out a little.
In a small dish, whisk the egg yolks and cream together and add the mixture and the butter to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes until they are smooth. Taste, and add additional salt if needed.
Use a spoon to place large dollops of mashed potatoes over the stew. (Alternatively, you can place the mashed potatoes in a pastry bag and squeeze it over the top of the stew). Fill in any holes with small dollops of mash potatoes so there isn't any place for the sauce to bubble up.
Set the casserole dish on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are nicely browned and the filling is bubbling.
Let the casserole rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you use leftover lamb and have drippings from a roast, you can replace some of the beef broth with the drippings.

Lamb loin or shoulder work well for this recipe but you can use any cut. If you don't have 1-1/2 pounds, just use what you have. The great thing about a Shepherd's pie is that you can stretch a small amount of meat to feed several people.

When you make the mashed potatoes, a tablespoon of salt may sound like a lot, but you can actually add even more. Heavily salting the potatoes' boiling water is the best way to season mashed potatoes.
If you want to add frozen peas or corn to the casserole, stir them into the stew just before you pour it into the casserole dish.

Nutrition