This Hairy Bikers shepherd’s pie from One Pot Wonders layers lamb mince in cinnamon and red wine under thin sliced potatoes with Cheddar. And at around 620 calories it takes about two hours for four, so it suits a weekend cook when you want something proper.
Si and Dave call themselves “magicians” for working out how to build this in one pot, which says a lot about how proud they are of it. And the trick is that raw sliced potatoes bake directly on the sauce, absorbing lamb juices from below until they turn sticky and rich.
Most online recipes say mash on top, but this one layers raw sliced potatoes with Cheddar between each layer. And pressing them into the sauce before baking means the lamb juices cook the potatoes from below while the oven crisps the cheese from above.
Hairy Bikers Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Description
A one-pot shepherd’s pie where lamb mince simmers with rosemary, oregano and a pinch of cinnamon before getting topped with thin potato slices and Cheddar, then baked until crisp and bubbling.
Ingredients
For the Lamb Filling:
For the Sliced Potato Topping:
Instructions
- Brown the lamb: Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish, then add half the mince and press it down onto the base. Leave it to form a crust before turning and breaking it up, then remove and repeat with the second batch. Spoon off most of the fat once both batches are done.
- Build the base: Add the onion, carrots and celery to the same dish and cook for about 10 minutes until softened. Then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more before returning the lamb and stirring in the rosemary, oregano and cinnamon.
- Simmer the sauce: Turn up the heat and pour in the red wine, then let it bubble until reduced by half. Add the canned tomatoes, lamb stock and anchovy sauce if using, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer with the lid partly on for about 15 minutes while the sauce reduces slightly. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
- Layer the potatoes: While the filling simmers, slice the potatoes as thinly as you can using a mandolin or sharp knife, and do not rinse the slices since the surface starch helps them bind. Arrange the potato slices one layer at a time over the filling, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper and sprinkling in a little Cheddar between each. Press the potatoes down with the flat of your hands so the liquid from the sauce just covers them, then scatter the rest of the cheese on top.
- Bake: Put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes are nearly tender, then remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before serving, since the potatoes will absorb any extra liquid and come out sticky and full of flavour.
FAQs
Which Hairy Bikers cookbook has the shepherd’s pie?
Six books have a version, which is more than almost any other dish in their collection. This recipe is from One Pot Wonders with its sliced potato topping, while Mums Still Know Best has Ruth’s shepherd’s pie where a Yorkshire sheep farmer’s grandma adds porridge oats to thicken the filling, which is a brilliant old-fashioned trick nobody online mentions.
The Meat Feasts book has a version built around leftover roast meat rather than mince, so if you have lamb left from Sunday then the leftover lamb shepherd’s pie is the one to use. And the Ultimate Comfort Food book goes further with a duck confit shepherd’s pie for special occasions.
Is there a spicy version of this shepherd’s pie?
The Everyday Winners book has a shepherd’s pie with a couscous topping, ras-el-hanout spice, chickpeas and dried apricots. Si and Dave say there is “a Middle Eastern flavour to this recipe” and that “the flaked almonds add a nice touch of crunch,” so it is a proper standalone dish rather than just adding chilli to a standard pie.
If you want to go even further, the Veggie Feasts book has an Indian shepherd’s pie with curry spiced lentils, tamarind paste and a masala potato topping. Both catch that Latin American and curry shepherd’s pie search, since they are the closest Si and Dave have done to a spicy version.
Is there a vegetarian shepherd’s pie?
The Veggie Feasts Indian shepherd’s pie uses lentils, butternut squash, green beans and celeriac in a curry-spiced filling with a masala potato top. And Si and Dave note you can make it fully vegan by swapping to plant-based milk and dropping the butter and cheese, so it covers both.
The Everyday Winners book also has a vegetarian cottage pie with lentils and mushrooms that uses a different spice profile but the same layered technique. Both are tested cookbook recipes rather than something patched together, and they link well to this page since you can follow the same method with a meat-free filling.
Is this the same as the James Martin shepherd’s pie?
No, and people often confuse them because both appeared on BBC shows. James Martin’s version uses a traditional mashed potato top with a simpler stock-based sauce, while this Hairy Bikers version from One Pot Wonders uses sliced potato layers with Cheddar and adds cinnamon to the lamb filling.
There is also Ruth’s shepherd’s pie from Mums Still Know Best, which is the version fans remember from the TV series. Ruth is a Yorkshire sheep farmer whose grandma thickened the filling with porridge oats, and Si and Dave loved that technique enough to include it in the book.
Can I use mash instead of sliced potatoes?
You can, though the sliced potato technique is what makes this version special since the layers absorb the lamb juices and crisp up differently to mash. But if you prefer a traditional mashed top with cheese, the cottage pie from Perfect Pies does exactly that with a Cheddar mash topping on beef mince.
For a lighter option, the Hairy Dieters Eat Well Every Day book has a shepherd’s pie with cauliflower mash at just 438 calories per serving. And the Meat Feasts headnote suggests sweet potato as another alternative, so you have three different topping options across the cookbooks depending on what you are after.
