Esheperds’ Pie
The origin of the name for the Raj edition of shepherds’ pie, Esheperds’ Pie, remains obscure but according to Jennifer Brennan in Curries and Bugles the dish was a favorite of cook and diner alike in British India. As might be expected it tropicalizes the hearty dish with the addition of Indian ingredients and spicing. A pie for four or more.
- mashed potatoes made with four of them and, once they cool, a large beaten egg
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- a red (or tiger colored if you can find one) bell pepper, cleaned and diced
- a diced red onion
- 2 or 3 smashed and minced garlic cloves
- 1 lb ground lamb
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- heaped teaspoon or more ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- heaped ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 28 oz canned tomatoes, preferably San Marzanos
- zest of ½ lemon
- 12 or so pitted and chopped black olives
- about 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook the pepper and onion until softened; remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon.
- Stir the garlic into the pan for a minute, add the lamb, increase the heat to high and cook the meat, breaking it up, until browned.
- Stir in the spicing and salt, then add the tomatoes, stirring until the filling thickens, usually in no more than 5 minutes.
- Add the zest and olives, and return the pepper and onion to the mix.
Preheat the oven to 375°
- Drop the filling into an appropriate pie dish, top it with the mashed potato, score the topping with a fork and sprinkle the pie with the sesame.
- Bake the pie until golden, usually in half an hour or so.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes:
- Consistent with our custom we have adjusted the spicing to render it more robust.
- A good jolt of Worcestershire within Step 3 would do no harm.
- You could substitute a like aggregate amount of curry powder for the spice, also without harm.
- Unaccountably, although she offers the lamb as an alternative, Brennan prefers beef but that would render the dish ecottage pie.