Donal's family favourite - Shepherd's pie
This is a Skehan family favourite - Donal once cooked this on his show in Ireland and caused a national shortage of lamb shanks! It’s the perfect meal for those autumn nights and the ultimate Irish comfort food - it’s the Skehan family shepherds pie.
Skehan family Shepherd's pie
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
4 lamb shanks
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 sprigs fresh thyme
500ml fresh chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mash
1.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
75g butter
100ml double cream
1 free range egg yolk
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
Method
1. Heat half the olive oil in a casserole over a medium heat. Season the lamb shanks, add to the casserole and brown all over, then remove and set aside. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and soften the onions and carrots for 5 – 6 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme sprigs and cook for a minute or two more.
2. Return the lamb shanks to the pan, pour over the stock and stir through the tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce until combined. Season well and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook gently, partially covered, for 2½ hours, turning the lamb occasionally, until the lamb shanks are tender and falling apart and the sauce is reduced. If the lamb shanks aren’t fork tender at the end of the cooking time, persevere, add more water and keep simmering until they are.
3. Meanwhile, make the mash: put the potatoes into a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and tip back into the pan and place over a low heat to allow them to steam and dry. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. Stir in the spring onions and season to taste.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C, 160C fan, gas 4.
5. When the lamb is tender, shred the meat from the bone into the sauce, stir in the ketchup and transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. Top with the champ mash, using a spoon to make a nice pattern. Give the topping an extra sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the top is starting to brown and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges.