Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in French cuisine , is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. 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.

The term "cottage pie" is first recorded in 1791. "Shepherd's pie" is later, first recorded in the nineteenth century. Some modern variations are vegetarian or vegan, using substitutes for meat and dairy ingredients.

Definitions and preparation Some people in Britain call the pies made with beef "cottage pies" and those with lamb, "shepherd's pies". The major supermarkets do so,Cottage pie , Waitrose; Shepherd's pie , Waitrose; Cottage Pie , Sainsbury's; Shepherd's pie, Sainsbury's; Cottage pie , Tesco; Shepherd's pie , Tesco; Cottage pie, Marks and Spencer; and Shepherd's pie, Marks and Spencer. All retrieved 3 February 2026 and the distinction is backed by some reference works. Other authorities and cooks and food writers including Prue Leith, Caroline Waldegrave and John Ayto regard the two names as completely interchangeable. Jane Grigson's 1974 recipe for shepherd's pie uses beef, and mentions that it is "sometimes called" "cottage pie".

In Australia, Canada, and the US, "shepherd's pie" is a common term for a dish of any meat covered in mashed potato. Food retailers in those countries apply the term "shepherd's pie" to beef-filled pies as well as those containing lamb.

A basic shepherd's pie consists of cooked minced meat covered with mashed potatoes. It is baked.

History Cottage pie The term was in use by 1791. Parson Woodforde mentions "Cottage-Pye" in his diary entry for 29 August 1791 and several times thereafter. He records that the meat was veal but does not say what the topping was. The dish was known under a different name in the early 19th century: in 1806, in her book A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Rundell published a recipe for "Sanders", consisting of minced beef or mutton, with onion and gravy, topped with mashed potato and baked as individual servings. Sanders or Saunders could also have a filling of sliced meat. According to Jane Grigson in English Food, mincing originally meant chopping something with a knife. "But with the first mincing-machines, prison, school and seaside boarding house cooks acquired a new weapon to depress their victims, with watery mince, shepherd's pie with rubbery granules of left-over meat."

In 20th-century and later British usage the term cottage pie has widely, but not exclusively, been used for a dish of chopped or minced beef with a mashed potato topping. Grigson records that that to make the dish go further, some recipes put in a bottom layer of potato before adding the meat and top layer. The meat may be raw or previously cooked; the latter was at one time more usual. Well into the 20th century the absence of refrigeration made it expedient in many domestic kitchens to store cooked meat rather than raw. In the 1940s the French-American chef Louis Diat recalled of his childhood days, "when housewives bought their Sunday meat they selected pieces large enough to make into leftover dishes for several days". Modern recipes for cottage pie typically use fresh beef.

Shepherd's pie

A recipe for shepherd's pie published in Edinburgh in 1849 in The Practice of Cookery and Pastry specifies cooked meat of any kind, sliced rather than minced, covered with mashed potato and baked. In the 1850s the term was also used for a Scottish dish that contained a mutton and diced potato filling inside a pastry crust. Neither shepherd's pie nor cottage pie was mentioned in the original edition of Mrs Beeton's Household Management in 1861, but a similar dish called Baked Minced Mutton called for onions, herbs and mutton, minced and baked in layers, covered with mashed potato on top and baked. In 1898 a recipe for a vegetarian shepherd's pie was published in The Vegetarian Messenger by Florence Nicholson.

More recently "shepherd's pie" has generally been used for a potato-topped dish of minced lamb. As with beef, it was commonplace in the days before refrigeration to cook a Sunday joint to last in various guises throughout the week. Dorothy Hartley quotes a traditional verse, "Vicarage mutton", showing not only the uses to which the joint was put, but also the interchangeability of the terms "shepherd's" and "cottage" pie – that the latter can be made with mutton rather than beef: Hot on Sunday, Cold on Monday, Hashed on Tuesday, Minced on Wednesday, Curried Thursday, Broth on Friday, Cottage pie Saturday.

Hachis Parmentier The dish is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who popularised the potato in French cuisine in the late 18th century. It is documented from the late 19th century. It is usually made with chopped or minced lamb or beef; in either case it may be made with either fresh or left-over cooked meat. (The English term "hash" comes from the French , meaning food finely chopped.)

In some recipes a layer of sauté potatoes is put in the cooking dish before the meat filling and mashed potato topping are added. A more elaborate version by Auguste Escoffier, named , consists of baked potatoes, the contents of which are removed, mixed with freshly-cooked diced beef, returned to the potato shells and covered with sauce lyonnaise.

Variations

There are no universally agreed ingredients for any of the variants. The recipes cited in the table show the varieties of titles and ingredients recommended by cooks and food writers from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, South Africa and the US. Cook/writerFromName of dishMeat usedFresh or left-overMary Berry Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Mary BerryBritainShepherd's pieLambLeft-over / freshMère Biasin France Hachis Parmentier Lamb Left-over boiled Hairy BikersBritain Cottage pieBeefFreshPaul Bocuse France Hachis Parmentier Beef, pork, veal, chicken, preferably mixed Left-over Robert Carrier US/Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Felicity Cloake Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh, chopped, not minced Cloake, Felicity. "How to make perfect cottage pie" , The Guardian, 21 October 2010Jean-Pierre Coffe France Hachis Parmentier Beef Left-over boiled, mixed with fresh calves' liver Elizabeth Craig Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Left-over casseroled Rocco DiSpirito US Shepherd's pie Beef Fresh Fannie Farmer US Cottage pie Pork Left-over Britain Shepherd's pie Beef or lamb Fresh Michel Guérard France Hachis Parmentier Veal sweetbreads and duck gizzards Fresh Mark Hix Britain Shepherd's pie Beef and lamb Fresh Graham Kerr Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Tom Kerridge Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Prue Leith S. Africa/Britain Shepherd’s pie or cottage pie Beef Fresh Jean Paré Canada Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh Marguerite Patten Britain Cottage pie Lamb Left-over Henri-Paul Pellaprat France Hachis Parmentier Beef Left-over Anne-Sophie Pic France Oxtail Parmentier Beef Fresh Gordon Ramsay Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Fresh Jay Rayner Britain Cottage pie Beef and pork Fresh Gary Rhodes Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Fresh Michel Roux, Jr. France/Britain Hachis Parmentier Lamb Left-over roast Madame Saint-Ange France Hachis de bœuf au gratin Beef Left-over Keith Sarasin US Cottage pie Lamb Fresh Nigel SlaterBritainShepherd's PieLambFreshDelia Smith Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Delia Smith Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Fresh Rick SteinBritainShepherd's pieLambLeft-overMartha Stewart US Shepherd's pie Beef FreshStewart, Martha. "Shepherd's pie" , Marthastewart.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022John Torode Australia/Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh Antoine Westermann France Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh or left-over braised Anne Willan Britain/France/US Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh Antony Worrall ThompsonBritainShepherd's PieLambFresh

Similar dishes Fillings for other pies with a mashed potato topping are numerous, and include artichoke hearts and red peppers; black pudding; chicken and spinach; chorizo; curried chicken; duck; rabbit; salmon; salt cod; turkey and ham; and flaked white fish with shrimps in a white sauce.

Other pies with non-pastry toppings include: Name of dishPlaceoforiginDescription Cumberland pie England Pies of this name exist in two versions: traditional Cumberland pies, still served in Cumbria, have a pastry case, but others have a lamb or beef or pork-sausage filling covered by mashed potato topped with cheese and breadcrumbs. Lemm, Elaine. "What is Cumberland Pie?" , Thespruceats. Retrieved 14 May 2022 Empadão Portugal Meat, often veal, stewed in a tomato-based gravy and layered several times between mashed potatoes. Poultry or fish is sometimes used instead of meat "Empadão de Carne" , Receitas Culinárias. Retrieved 14 May 2022 Escondidinho Brazil The name, indicating "hidden", describes the way sun-dried meat is covered with a layer of manioc purée. The dish often includes cheese and chicken; cod is sometimes used instead of beef. Hamburger pie United States Adds vegetables (often frozen or tinned) to the minced meat ("hamburger") mixture; sometimes condensed tomato or mushroom soup. Typically topped with cheese. Most versions use a mashed potato topping, but some use cornmeal mush. Some are multi-layer. (Potato casserole) Russia Usually three layers: potato-meat-potato, using pork or beef (often extended with fillers) and egg or flour added to the potatoes to make it easier to portion from a large pan. Often served in Soviet school and company cafeterias. Pastel de carne Uruguay The filling is similar to that of a cottage pie, with the addition of sliced hard-boiled eggs."Pastel de carne" , Gastronomía. Retrieved 14 May 2022 Pastel de papas Argentina, Chile Similar to cottage pie; may also contain peppers."Pastel de papas" , Recetas de Argentina. Retrieved 14 May 2022 Pastel tutup Indonesia Made with any of several meats, with vegetables such as carrots and green peas and boiled eggs, all topped with mashed potato."Grandma Liem’s Pastel Tutup (Indonesian Cottage Pie) Recipe" , Cookpad. Retrieved 14 May 2022 Pâté chinois Canada Also known in Canada as shepherd's pie, consisting of a bottom layer of beef, a middle layer of creamed sweetcorn, topped with mashed potato. Pióg an aoire Ireland The Irish for shepherd's pie. Shepherdesspie Other Also called gardener's pie, shepherdless pie or foragers' pie: a vegetarian version made without meat or a vegan version made without meat and dairy.

Shepherd's pie

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