I make mine with hamburger, onion, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans, broccolli, and then Tater Tots With Lots of CHEESY on top!!!

Neil- I can see not adding a lot of gooey cheese to this, but I tried Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dried "Cheese Topping" on top of crushed potato chips and it was pretty good. That's not real cheese anyway, right?

I tried this recipe with beef and cheese, and it was delicious!

I am American and found your comments not only funny, but...TRUE! I just ordered a bowl of tomato bisque at a new restaurant and it came with shreds of cheese all over the top. Huh??? Why are we putting cheese in everything? We're not fat enough? ha
Anyway, I am a BIG believer in knowing how to do a recipe the authentic way and Neil is right on. Then, if you want to play around with it to suit yourself, great. But at least you know how it's supposed to be.

This is a very traditional recipe and extremely easy to make and what I consider comfort food. I personally agree with Neil. NO CHEESE SHOULD COME CLOSE TO EITHER RECIPE. It is true Shepherd's pie is lamb and Cottage pie is beef. There was nothing bad to say about this. I live in US but born and raised in Canada. My fathers side is Brit and mothers side Scot. I now am stuck in Arizona where everyone is either Mexican or Californian and not one of the so called pubs can make any traditional pub food. One place makes great fish but had to go Californizing up something as simple as chips (also funny as hell watching a group of Mexicans playing Celt folk music). I again was just browsing through and wanted to say thanks for posting a good reminder of what it should be!

Have not tried the recipe. Loved the comments. BTW. If someone puts something in a recipe a person hasn't heard of, say... bisto, for example, I find it enjoyable to just look it up. Good times. Thanks for the authentic recipes on this site. They mean the world to people who enjoy cooking.

You are quite right and your comments have nothing to do with snobism. Of course there can be variations but then it is no longer a shepherds pie!

One thing I forgot - people can add whatever they want to the recipe - just don't call it "shepherds pie".

Go Neil !!!!!- what a bunch of whiners here - Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb - what's the problem that people can't understand that. These are the same people that most probably advocate "Everybody is a winner today" and don't want the youngsters to keep score when playing baseball in case the losers end up with "low self esteem". They need to get a life, not you.

A pie-shop franchise recently closed all their branches because they were selling Cornish pasties and meat pies - the British way - but then had to add pizza, hamburger, Hawaiian and teriyaki fillings. I told the owner to stick to the tried and tested British favorites but he wouldn't listen. What's that about "you can't please all the people all of the time" - guess he hadn't heard of that.

I love the authors commentary and he is so spot on with his comment. I cook in an Air Force dining hall and will NOT put shredded cheese on top, but instead sprinkle the top with paprika and cook on 450°F in a convection oven making it nice and crispy. But ground lamb is a little hard to come by in the states. Coworkers all tend to put that shredded yellow crap on top of every other casserole as they do this one

I have just spent an hour reading and enjoying the fury and patriotism from both sides of the pond. I am a Brit in Bermuda, and so have had years of pie angst. Firstly, those that talk of shepard's pie, or sheppard's pie, need to get the spelling right. Maybe, if they did that, they would consider who the pie was named after. I suggest digging out an old Christmas card and looking for the shepherd. He is rustic looking fella with the crook in one arm. Please look closely at what is dangling under the other arm. It is a small sheep, commonly known as a lamb. He is not holding a cow, as that would hurt and disturb both the animal and the scene of the nativity.

I cooked a lovely shepherd's pie once and left it in my kitchen ready to put into the oven. My American neighbour popped by and showered it in yucky, damp, and very orange cheese. I always thought this was an act of kindness, until I read these postings and realised that the War of Independence was actually fought over sheep and cheese.

I find the author funny instead of rude.... I am a chinese, borned in Hong Kong, and I've spent half of my time in US. It is so true that some Americans add cheese to everything. I see shepherd's pie as a British traditional food, and I think it is interesting to cook it the way it was originally done by the British people. This goes for other dishes from any other cultures as well. I am not against improvements and varieties as well. So thank you all who post their favorite recipes here :)

Neil did a fine job of respecting the name and heritage and actual ingredients of a dish. He may have come across as a little testy, but only because he wanted his recipe to be made as Shepherd Pie is supposed to be made in the traditional sense. For what it's worth, it isn't made with ground beef, left over pot roast, chicken tenders or turkey breast... do that if you will, but don't call it Shepherd's Pie. Simple as that, good on you Neil!

This dish was great! Thanks Brit

Great recipe, could do with a little less snarkyness from the author however. And Yanks put cheese over everything that moves about as much as Brits put gravy over everything that moves. That being said, Cheers!