- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 medium onions, peeled and diced
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 celery sticks, diced
- (1 ½ cups) passata (tomato sauce) plus extra
- 1 kilo shredded slow-cooked lamb (see recipe below)
Alternatively: - ½ kilo (1 lb) ground beef and ½ kilo (1 lb) ground lamb
- Salt and pepper
- 1 recipe garlic mashed potatoes
Slow-cooked Shoulder of Lamb (click for recipe)
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (click for recipe)
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉). Prepare one large or two smallish oven-safe baking dishes and set aside.
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil until shimmering, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring frequently until all the vegetables are soft and the onions are starting to brown. Season the vegetables well with salt and pepper.
Add the shredded lamb to the cooked vegetables in the pan and mix until well combined.
*If using ground beef and lamb, add them to the vegetables and cook stirring frequently until all the meat is brown and no trace of pink remains.
Season once more. Add the passata (tomato sauce) to the pan and mix well, if the mixture looks too dry feel free to add some more passata until you have loose but not wet mixture.
Place the lamb ragu mixture into the bottom of the baking dish or divide between two if using, top with an even layer of garlic mashed potatoes.
Bake in the lower middle part of the oven for 40-45 minutes until the potato topping looks set and the mixture is bubbling.
Serve straight away or cool completely before refrigerating or freezing.
The shepherd’s pie, once cooled and well covered, can be frozen for up to a month.
