Greek Style Shepherd's Pie
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 5.5 hours (mostly while the lamb roasts)
- 1.5kg/3lb. leg of lamb or shoulder bone-in (or 1 kilo lamb mince)
- Juice of 2 lemons
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 head garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1.5 cups beef stock
- 4 tablespoons honey
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 100g/3.5ozs pitted black olives
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1.2kg potatoes
- 1 cup whole milk, hot
- 100g/3.5ozs feta, cubed
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil plus a little extra for drizzling
- Salt and pepper to season
Step 1 - Place the lemon juice, zest, oregano and garlic in a large ziplock bag and marinate the leg of lamb for 1-2 hours turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a baking tray with parchment (to make it easier to clean) and place the lamb on the tray with the marinade. Season generously with salt and pepper and roast for 3.5 to four hours basting every 30 minutes or so.
Step 2 - Using forks, shred the meat (you can reserve the bone to put in a soup along with extra vegetables and barley) and put aside. I did this the day before.
Step 3 - Boil the potatoes in their skins until soft. Pass them through a potato ricer and back into the saucepan. Add the hot milk in a thin stream and then add the feta, olive oil and salt and taste for seasoning (I find potatoes need a lot of salt). Set aside.
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Heat some oil in a frypan and saute the onion and carrots. Add the lamb and the stock. If you are using mince, add it in two lots now browning it well before adding the stock. When the lamb is cooked through and softened, add the peas, honey, lemon, black olives and oregano. Taste for seasoning, you want a wonderful balance between salty, lemony and sweet.
Step 5 - Place the lamb mixture into a baking dish and then top with the mashed potato. Make marks or patterns with a fork if you want to. Drizzle with some extra olive oil on top and bake for 30 minutes.