Guinness Shepherd's Pie

 Most of my recipes I make are based on recipes my mom made. Somehow the wonderful aromas and simple but superb tastes have remained with me long after she passed away, and it is with delight that I continue to use these recipes and add my own twist to them.

She always made hearty food that was especially good on a cold winters night. One of my personal favorites was Shepherd's Pie - my mother actually made it with beef so it was actually cottage pie, but we still called it Shepherd's Pie. It was the crispiness of the top of the mashed potatoes combined with the wonderful gravy that made this so good for me!

• 1 1/2 pounds of minced lamb - this is hard to find in the US so I tend to get some of the cheap lamb chops, cut of the excess fat (leave some on as you need this to add flavor) and then mince in a blender
• 1/2 pound of carrots - you can use tinned carrots but I always find that fresh carrots cubed add a lot of texture and flavor.
• 1/2 pound of peas - can be frozen or tinned - frozen seem to work a little better for me.
• Herbs of your choice (parsley, sage and garlic work well).
• 2 cups of beef stock - when in England I used two OXO cubes with 2 cups of water - you can use 2 boullian cubes in the US.
• 1 medium onion - finely chopped.
• Olive oil - you can use any vegetable oil, but I find olive oil adds a nice flavor.
• 1 or 2 bottles Guinness (if you use one, then increase stock) - this is a trial and error process - the more Guinness the more bitter the taste - I like the bitterness, but you might want to start with less Guinness on the first attempt.
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (optional)
• 3 pounds potatoes.
• 1/4- 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick butter
• Salt and pepper

 The alcohol will burn away during cooking.

• Preheat the oven to about 375 degrees F.
• Using your favorite method, make mashed potatoes (using the potatoes, milk and butter) - for best results, slightly under cook and mash with a fork so the potatoes are a little lumpy.
• In a frying pan, heat the minced lamb until brown, remove most of the excess fat.
• Add 1 bottle of Guinness to the meat and simmer on low until the liquid is reduced to almost nothing.
• Add tomato paste and mix well.
• Place the meat in a casserole dish.
• Fry the onions and carrots in the olive oil until the onions are slightly translucent.
• Add the herbs and fry for a few seconds mixing well.
• Add the onion mixture to the casserole dish with the remaining Guinness, the peas - mix well.
• Add stock until the liquid is just below the meat.
• Add the mashed potatoes evenly on top of the meat - use a fork to create ridges and ensure none of the meat is visible - use the fork to go around the edge of the casserole dish to ensure there is a proper 'seal'.
• To add a slightly different texture and taste sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the potatoes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  
  To make the gravy thicker, add flour to the meat when frying.
  

You can use soybean equivalents of minced lamb, or simply replace the meat with beans – the method is similar, although you won’t need to brown the vegetable. Replace the beef stock with a suitable vegetable stock.

Guinness is not suitable for vegetarians, you’d have to replace the Guinness with one of the stouts below:

• Alloa Stout - bottle
• Bell's Stout (Various)
• Black Isle Brewery Porter Stout
• Bridge of Allan's Glencoe Wild Oat Stout (bottled)
• Hopback Entire Stout
• Isle of Skye Oyster Stout (bottled)
• Linfit English Guineas Stout - bottle
• Cropton's Scorseby Stout (bottle)
• Dublin's Darcy's Dublin Stout
• Samuel Adams Stout (Various)
• Titanic Brewery Stout - bottle

 You can actually serve this dish as-is; however you can garnish with a salad, or add a green vegtable if required.