Shepherd's Pie

OK, so it's back to my roots for this one. Had a lamb leg roast the other night, resulting in... leftover roast lamb. For some reason it didn't occur to me at first (maybe I have lost some of my English...), but the perfect use for leftover roast lamb is... Shepherd's Pie! For those of you rubbing your heads thinking 'lamb?' yes, Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with lamb. Think about it... Not beef - that would be a 'cottage pie'.

This recipe is an amalgam of a few different ones, with a couple of adjustments of my own. It is not completely authentic, but it is good.

Start by boiling your potatoes for the mash. My pie was baked in a 9x5 inch pyrex loaf pan. I used between 1-1.5lb potatoes. I ended up with a thicker layer of mash than I needed so I would suggest that 1 lb potatoes is plenty for this recipe. I would recommend russets or chef potatoes (or any other kind of 'floury' potato). Peel them, cut them into roughly even-sized chunks and boil in salted water until cooked through. Drain in a colander, and allow to sit for a few minutes to lose some moisture. As they are sitting, heat up 1/4 -1/2 cup cream or milk until hot, and cut into small pieces 2 tbsp butter. Either mash your potatoes with a hand-held masher (or fork) - this will result in a chunky mash - or push through a food mill - this will result in a smooth mash. Incorporate your cream or milk, butter and a little salt and pepper to taste. I also stirred in a small amount of grated cheddar.

While the potatoes are boiling, you can make your filling. Chop your leftover roast lamb (I used about 10 oz, but the amount does not have to be precise) into pea-sized chunks and set aside. Chop 1 onion finely, and sweat in vegetable oil with 1 clove of garlic, minced and 1 carrot, peeled and diced very small. Add a little salt and cook gently until the carrot is soft. Add the lamb, turn up the heat a little, and make sure it browns all over. Stir in any leftover gravy or stock from your roast (or use water), 1/4 cup wine (I used white, but red is even better), 1 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 - 1/2 cup frozen corn. Simmer until the liquid thickens a little and develops a nice flavor (add salt and pepper as needed). Tip into the bottom of your pie dish.

Spread your mash over your filling. Rough up the surface with a fork and cut up 1 tbsp butter into 'dots', sprinkling them over the top. Either bake now at 450 F for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the mash browned, or refrigerate and bake later, at the same temperature, but for longer - up to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Note - Metric Info: 9 in = 23cm; 5 in = 13cm; 1 lb  = 450g; 1/4 cup = 60ml; 1/2 cup = 120ml; 450 F = 230 C.

Flapjacks

Now this is a flapjack!

OK, so first of all to clarify things a little, these are English flapjacks, which are sweet homemade granola bars (but way better...) not pancakes. We finished the brownies a little too quickly, so my hankering for something sweet led me to make this 'family favorite'.

The recipe is even simpler than the brownies. There are only four ingredients.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Then melt 5 oz butter gently in a medium saucepan. Once melted, stir in 5 oz brown sugar, and 6 tbsp golden syrup (see note below). Once everything is nicely mixed, switch off the heat and stir in 8 oz rolled oats. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and press the mixture down into it. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove the pan to a wire rack; allow to cool a little.

Carefully slice into 9 (or more or less, depending on how large you like them) squares. At this point, they will still be pretty soft. Once cooled down to room temperature, I like to put the pan in the refrigerator to firm them up and allow them to set properly.

Enjoy! Ours are going fast...

Note 1 - Golden syrup is a British product, a little tricky to find in the USA, but I did get some from my local Shaw's store, in the 'International aisle', with the Heinz baked beans and McVities Digestive biscuits...  Look for 'Lyles' brand. If you cannot find it, you can substitute an equal volume of maple syrup.

Note 2 - Metric info: 5 oz = 140g; 8 oz = 225g; 350 F = 175 C.