If you're looking for a dish that mixes show-stopper with comfort food, this is just ideal.
The key to the recipe is using shoulder of lamb, slow-braised on the bone — ‘for serious depth and heft’, say Fortnum & Mason’s chefs — while serving it up with mash makes this an ideal late-winter/early-spring classic.
‘Pick the meat while still warm,’ the chefs suggest. ‘It makes the job easier. And baking the potatoes first will give you a drier, fluffier mash than the boiled equivalent.’
Ingredients for overnight shoulder-of-lamb shepherd’s pie
Serves 8
- 1 shoulder of lamb on the bone
- 2 carrots, cut into 1cm dice
- 1 celery stalk, cut into 1cm dice
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- A sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
- Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
- 2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 500ml chicken stock
- A handful of frozen peas
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the duchesse potato topping
- 6 large baking potatoes (about 2kg)
- 200ml double cream
- 120g unsalted butter
- 6 egg yolks
Method
Season the lamb shoulder well and put it on a wire rack in a roasting tray. Cover the tray loosely with foil, place in the oven at 120oC/Gas Mark ½ and slow-roast for about 8 hours – at Fortnum’s they normally put it in at the end of a shift so it is ready for the next morning. Pick the meat out, removing all fat and skin – it is a lot easier to do this while it is still warm. Shred it into decent-sized pieces.
Heat a spoonful of lamb fat from the roasting tray in a large pan, add the carrots, celery and onion and cook gently until soft. Stir in the garlic and herbs and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and the lamb and mix well. Pour in the sock and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until it has reduced but the mixture is still moist. Check the seasoning.
To make the topping, wrap the potatoes in foil and bake at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for about an hour, until tender. Leave until cool enough to handle, then cut them in half, scoop out the flesh and push it through a potato ricer or a sieve into a bowl. Bring the double cream and butter to the boil in a pan and beat them into the potato. Season well, then mix in the egg yolks. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Put the lamb mixture into a large pie dish, pressing it right down. Scatter the frozen peas over, then pipe the duchesse mix on top, covering the filling completely. Place in an oven heated to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.
Recipe: Spring-onion and cheese scones for those who prefer savoury to sweet
Savoury scones are just as easy to make as sweet ones, without the added need of jam and clotted cream.
Recipe: Tom Aikens’s roast leg of lamb
The arrival of Spring is an grand time of year for all those who love fresh, seasonal food, with the
Curious Questions: Why is pancake day called ‘Shrove Tuesday’?
Martin Fone investigates how Shrove Tuesday got its name — and also unveils the history of the day that precedes it,
