Vegan shepherd's pie | Vegetables recipes | Jamie Oliver (2024)

FAQs

What can I use to thicken my shepherd's pie? ›

The easiest way to thicken shepherd's pie filling is by sprinkling a few tablespoons of flour into the ground beef mixture as it cooks before adding it to the baking dish. The starch in the flour will absorb the extra liquid and create a thick gravy.

A hearty, flavor-packed lentil and sticky onion filling meets fluffy mashed potatoes and cauliflower in this protein-rich plant-based dinner. The perfect healthy comfort food for winter! One of my favorite cozy winter recipes is this Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie.

How do you keep shepherds pie from falling apart? The eggs in the mashed potatoes help keep the pie together. You should also make sure to spread the potatoes and press down a bit.

Why is my shepherd's pie runny? Generally, this is caused by using too much stock.

Tapioca as Pie Filling Thickener

This old-school ingredient may be what your great grandmother used to thicken her pies, and it's still great for making a perfect fruit pie with a clear, stable filling. Tapioca is derived from cassava (also known as yuca or manioc), a starchy root native to South America.

It's easy to substitute cornstarch for flour when your recipe calls for a thickener (as in gravy, sauce, or pie) or a coating for fried foods. Whether you don't have flour on hand or are looking for gluten-free alternatives, cornstarch has a similar effect in these cooking applications.

Simply put, after making a weekend roast, unused meat was repurposed into a pie using affordable potatoes as a crust. This frugal, albeit clever, meal suggests the name “cottage pie” referred to the consumers of the dish—poor Irish peasants (remember, they lived in cottages).

Most workers ate their meat, potatoes and corn separately but workers of mainly Asian origins, combined their rations to create shepherd's pie, a more communal dish. The French-Canadian railway workers liked this new concoction, adopted the dish, and called it “pâté chinois”, which loosely translates to Chinese pie.

The terms shepherd's pie and cottage pie have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd's pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.

How do you keep potatoes from sinking in shepherd's pie? Let the beef layer cool before you top it with the mashed potatoes. This is the number one way to keep your potatoes from sinking. Another tip is to not make your potatoes too runny because firmer mashed potatoes stay more level while baking.

Can shepherds pie be reheated twice? ›

In fact, the Food Standards Agency recommends reheating your food just one time. Imagine reheating your leftover Shepherd's Pie to find out that it's got a massive chunk of frozen mince in the middle? Not only is it going to be disgusting but you're putting yourself at risk of food poisoning.

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.

How can I thicken my shepherd's pie? 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.

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.

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.

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed.

Mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one cup of cold water, whisking the mixture together until the cornstarch granules dissolve. Stir this mixture into your gravy on low heat. You can use arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, or potato starch as a thickener if you don't have cornstarch.