Chef Rose Mathieu : Gourmet Shepherd’s Pie

This French-Kenyan award-winning Chef shares her delicious shepherd’s pie recipe for the perfect comfort food. Guaranteed to be a hit with your family and your guests this season.

Ingredients (serves 8-10 people)

1. Boneless beef – Choose the right cut of meat. Preferably meat from the shoulder, leg or rump of the animal, the chuck, shank, brisket or oxtail.
2. Aromatic Vegetables
3. 2 large carrots
4. 4 big onions (1 for boiling beef, three for browning to add)

How to braise/boil beef

1. 2 leeks
2. 1 Celery stick
3. 2 peeled cloves of garlic

Set aside

1. 2 chopped medium tomatoes
2. Mashed potatoes
3. Boil 1.5 kg of potatoes and set aside

Cooking preparations

• Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Trim off any excess fat
• Cut the beef into big pieces like in the image
• Wash and chop your vegetables in medium size.

Recipe

• Put a big casserole/sufuria on your stove and heat on medium. Add two tablespoons of cooking oil.
• Add aromatic vegetables the chopped onions, leeks, carrots and celery. You could also add a few cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed. Sauté for a few minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.
• Add the beef.
• Add water , it should just barely cover the meat. You can now add other flavorings like Maggi cubes.
• Bring the braising liquid back to a simmer, then cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid.
• Cook on low until the beef is very tender , this will take from 2 to 4 hours depending on the beef cut.
• Please check from time to time the water level and add if need. Also turn the beef slowly with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking on the bottom of the casserole and burning.
• Remember to remove the white residue that forms on the top using a spoon from time to time ( those are impurities – they need to go. )

When the beef is cooked, remove it and set aside. Also set aside the vegetables and the juices from the beef.

Using a blender, roughly blend the beef. Or use your clean fingers to mince the beef, the meat should be soft enough to allow you to mince with your fingers. Do not overdo it because you need the beef to have texture in it.:

Then , chop your onions. On medium, heat a saucepan then add a table spoon of cooking oil and brown your onions without burning them. Add your browned onion to your grounded beef and mix the two well. On the same saucepan used for browning onions, add your chopped tomatoes. Cook until soft but maintain the tomatoes texture. Transfer to a baking tray and spread evenly.

Take your vegetables from the beef, add them on the baking tray without the juices and spread evenly. Then add your ground beef, spread it out evenly and set aside.

Peel your potatoes and boil in salty water until soft then drain from the water

Mash the potatoes, add water and mash again. Add cooking cream. Add one egg then some cheese – a handful. Add the juices from the beef. Use a filter or collander and mash Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the vegetables and beef.  Using the teeth of a fork, draw lines. Make a pattern of your choice. This will make your shepherd’s pie have a beautiful appearance.

Sprinkle evenly with grated cheese (I use grouiller) Then add a few knobs of butter like in the image

Preheat the oven – @ 200 DC and bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 200 DC , this will depend on your oven . If you see that the cheese is darkening , reduce the oven temperature to 180 DC .Cook until the top of the pie is golden brown.

Serve your shepherd’s pie immediately with some fresh salad on the side. Bon appétit !!!Find more recipes from Chef Rose on her page. If you’d like to attend a special cookery class this month, see the details here.