Hmmm....great recipe, but really, is it necessary to bash Americans? I've lived in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England for several years. That being said, I saw plenty of cottage pies and shepherd's pie made with a bit of cheese on top. These were made by people who did not cater to Americans taste buds. Americans ~ despite your belief, do not put cheese on everything that moves. Here%'s a suggestion, keep the great recipes coming but lose the snotty attitude. Thanks

Let's get this right - Let's sort this out straight away - Shepherd's pie came about because the SCOTTISH and Yorkshire English needed a way to use their leftovers!!!! So having someone cook everything at once is really not getting it right now is it? We were looking for a recipe for time and temperature AFTER we assembled the lamb and veggies and put the wonderful mashed potatoes together.
We love the British - ta ta from the colonies across the pond and all that.

I used cheese and it was delicious!

I followed the recipe *almost* exactly; on a cold winter night (really), it has been a big hit. I wasn't entirely sure what qualifies as minced lamb, so I avoided the meat grinder and chopped the lamb into tiny pieces: smaller than for stew, but definitely larger than ground. I used a 1 lb piece of meat from a leg of lamb that's been in the freezer for 6 months. I also decided to use 2 carrots, since my family loves them.

As advised, I cooked the meat & vegetables in a slow oven; I ended up leaving it in for 2.5 hrs. The gravy wasn't thick enough for me, so I put in a small pot & thickened with a bit more corn startch on top of the stove before adding back to the meat/vegeatables. Finally, I wanted a one dish meal, so I added a layer of frozen corn kernals before topping with mashed potatoes. Sprinkled the potatoes with paprika for extra color, and that's it.

The result? the lamb was very tender, carrots still a bit crunchy (good) and the gravy was very flavorful. This dish has a definite, but not over powering, lamb flavor (again, a good thing).

I am sure I will use this recipe again.

golly...20 pages of comments and still going strong

Neil. Thanks for standing up for a wonderful recipe. My first shepherd's pie was made with lamb that I was served by a client and it was superb! Any other meat changes the taste. I'm a southern cook. If I give you a recipe don't change it and for heavens sake, don't add cheese or worst yet, ketchup!

I have a bit of shepherd in my blood, not to mention Scotch, and I'm quite sure this recipe is not an original recipe by any means. The real old time shepherds did not exactly have Bisto available in their pantry after a long day of herding sheep. Most likely the "shepherd's" pie did not even contain vegetables, except on a special occasion. It probably was mostly left over potatoes from the night before, some tidbits of meat (possibly even rabbit) and made w/ some gravy so as not to waste any pan drippings, and to add some moisture. This recipe sounds like a pretty modern version, delicious no doubt but not very original.

Good recipe and thank you for the tip on slow cooking it. I just wish lamb was cheaper.

A note... as long as it is made with baked meat (of any kind) & veggies with potatoes on top, it will be a cottage pie. Shepherd's is just a type of cottage pie... as is "Cowboy Pie" ( made with beef & cheese ).

"...desire lead in your stomach" - Try Mac & cheese with ground beef or chicken breasts with Swiss cheese slices on top covered with condensed cream of chicken, seasoned stuffing, and butter. Both yummy and easy to make.

@Cheese Apple Pie... >< that just sounds horrid (almost as bad as apple pie with Tabasco sauce).

Steven - a simple cook ^_^

This recipe was exactly what I was looking for! I didn't find the comments offensive. They were protecting tradition. Exactly what I was looking for authenticity. How many does this serve though?

Bisto can be bought at Sweetbay supermarkets in the USA or British shops here too. I am a brit living in the USA and have used cheese in the mashed potatoes. I also like to use Worcestershire sauce in the lamb mix. I am not a snob but I feel it is wrong to use beef and call it a shepherd's pie. Maybe cowherds pie would be a better name if beef is used, but common sense must prevail when one knows what a shepherd does.

This is absolutely hilarious! I can not believe there are 20 pages of comments about this recipe. And here I am adding to it. LOLOLOL Loved the days of our lives comment. I too never thought I'd find this much drama on cooks.com. I am absolutely dying laughing. But carry on as I go prepare my shephard's pie with ground beef. Oh wait, its not shephards pie. Its cowboy pie. Oh shoot that's not right either. Teeeeheeeheee

thanks for the "British" recipe Neil!! I am a Brit now living in US, but i have to say i have always added cheese to my Shepherds Pie, sacrilege i know, but my kids all liked it better that way ;)

Shepherds Pie is lamb, correct, but the real lamb for these is supposed to be leftovers from a lamb roast, ground in a meat grinder as a means of making the protien last for a second or third meal from the original roast. This recipe is great, but also innaccurate, as this dish was originally a poor mans dish to recycle leftovers. Cooking minced or cubed lamb is just as irracurrate as using cheese, and has a completely different flavor and texture from ground roast (cooked a day or 2 prior). People should feel free adapt the recipe to their tastes, without worrying about what is "Authentic." My personal taste is for using ground leftover lamb from the day before's roast. Which means you are not cooking the lamb for this meal, just quickly mixing in cooked onion, carrots, and celery, quickly cooked in the saved juice and leaving of the original roast. Makes for a fast and tasty shepherds pie. Nothing compares, but other versions are equally good, just "different."

Neil, as a fellow Brit from Woodbridge, Suffolk, I'd like to make a comment before I get too long in the tooth. It's all about taste, my dear friend! Sure, cheese isn't what you'd find in any pub around here, but if a poor bloke or lass wishes to throw some cheese on, then let me do so! Your blatant latch for tradition is dearly commendable, but at the end of the day, Neil, it really is directed by what's in the pantry, and/or what tastes good. Personally, I've found the cheese to be quite wonderful, but to each their own. Relax, ol' chap. Just give it a go. Cheers.

Incredible! No wonder the planet views American's as parochoial imbeciles...to take offense as a minor jibe about the amount of cheese that appears in Amerian "cuisine" is frankly bizarre. Develop a thicker skin..oh, btw, I don't seem many Americans as refraining from snide remarks about French cuisine - or Arab culture...or a host of things. Thank you Neil.