This Hairy Bikers leftover lamb shepherd’s pie from Meat Feasts turns 600g of Sunday roast scraps into a full second dinner at around 640 calories. And since the meat is already cooked, the whole thing takes just over an hour for four.
Si and Dave say “the best pies are made with leftover roast meat, not mince,” which flips the way most people think about this dish. And they are right, because roast lamb has a chunkier bite and deeper flavour than raw mince ever gives you.
The step most people rush is reducing the red wine before adding the stock. You want 300ml of wine to bubble down to almost nothing, which takes a good 5 minutes of hard boiling. Since that reduction cooks off the alcohol and concentrates the flavour, it turns a thin liquid into a rich sauce base.
Hairy Bikers Leftover Lamb Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Description
Leftover roast lamb chopped into rough dice, simmered with red wine and herbs in gravy, then topped with buttery mash and baked until piping hot with a golden crust.
Ingredients
For the Filling:
For the Mash Topping:
Instructions
- Dice the lamb: Chop the leftover roast lamb into small dice by hand, since a food processor chops it too fine and you lose the chunky texture that makes this better than mince. Aim for roughly 1cm pieces.
- Fry the vegetables: Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion, carrots and celery. Fry gently for about 10 minutes until softened and starting to colour, while stirring occasionally.
- Brown the meat: Turn up the heat and add the diced lamb, then cook for a few minutes while keeping the stirring to a minimum at first so the underside browns properly. Once well coloured, add the garlic and herbs and season with salt and pepper.
- Build the sauce: Pour in the red wine and let it bubble hard until it has reduced almost completely, which concentrates the flavour. Then stir in the tomato purée, gravy or stock and Worcestershire sauce before bringing to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce thickens, and add a splash of water if it starts to look dry. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
- Make the mash: While the filling simmers, boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain and return to the pan, then mash with butter and a splash of milk until smooth. Season to taste but keep the mash fairly stiff since it needs to hold on top of the filling.
- Top and bake: Pour the filling into a 30cm by 20cm ovenproof dish, then spread the mash over the top using a spatula. Rough up the surface with a fork and dot with extra butter. Bake on a tray for 25 to 30 minutes until piping hot inside and well browned on top.
FAQs
Can I use leftover beef instead of lamb?
Si and Dave say use either, since the recipe in Meat Feasts is called “Shepherd’s or Cottage Pie” and works the same way with both. Leftover roast beef gives you a cottage pie while leftover lamb gives you a shepherd’s pie, and the only real difference is the name.
If you want a cottage pie made from scratch with fresh beef mince instead of leftovers, the cottage pie from Perfect Pies is the one to look at since it has a cheesy Cheddar mash topping and a different technique entirely.
What is the best roast to use for this pie?
Si and Dave mention their slow roast lamb shoulder as the best starting point, since low and slow cooking makes the meat fall apart into perfect chunks. The slow roast leg of lamb works well too, and any leftover lamb joint with a bit of fat running through it will give you more flavour than a lean cut.
You need around 600g of meat, which is roughly what a four-person roast leaves behind after the first meal. And if you have leftover gravy from the same roast, use that for the 300ml of stock since it carries all the flavour from the original cooking.
How is this different from a normal shepherd’s pie?
The meat is already cooked, so you build flavour differently. With raw mince you brown it and simmer for a long time to develop depth, but with leftover roast the flavour is already there from the original roasting. And that means the wine reduction does most of the heavy lifting, concentrating into a rich sauce in about 20 minutes.
For a from-scratch lamb shepherd’s pie using raw mince, the shepherd’s pie from One Pot Wonders has a completely different method with sliced potato layers and cinnamon in the filling.
Can I use a different topping?
Si and Dave suggest sweet potato in the Meat Feasts headnote, which adds sweetness that works well with leftover lamb. And the Hairy Dieters Eat Well Every Day book has a shepherd’s pie with cauliflower mash at 438 calories if you want something lighter.
Keep the mash fairly stiff whichever potato you use, since a loose mash slides off the filling and turns into a puddle. And rough up the surface with a fork before baking, since those peaks are what catch the butter and brown in the oven.
How long do leftover lamb pies keep?
Assemble and bake the pie within two days of the original roast, since the lamb has already been cooked once and you do not want to push food safety. Once baked, leftover portions keep in the fridge for up to two days and reheat well at 180°C for 20 minutes with foil on top.
Freezing works best before baking: assemble the raw pie, cover tightly, and freeze for up to two months. Then defrost fully in the fridge overnight before baking as normal, since baking from frozen leaves the centre cold while the top burns.
