English Cuisine is Underrated - Shepherd's Pie

So, ok, you can forget the fantastic, silky sauces mastered by the French, and the elegant pastas and fish from the Mediterranean world, as well as the superbly smoked meats of northern Europe.  Still, there is a narrow window of down-home English cooking that fosters images of an amber pint of bitter, a roaring fire, and the conversational prater of the Queen’s English, floating through the air in a dark paneled pub.

Yes, I am an anglophile.  I like the damp, cool weather of England that pervades in the all but the hottest days of summer.  I look forward to sipping a pint in yet another historic pub, and the elegance of an evening at the theater.  I love the picturesque phrases that flow so easily off the British tongue to exactly capture the moment, in tones that only the English can master.  In a train station’s almost bare coffee shop, I heard a matron murmur, “The refreshments are woefully inadequate.”  What would an American say?  “There’s nothing worth eating,” or “This place stinks.”  Both are woefully inadequate.

Which brings us to the question:  What is worth eating in England?  The fish and chips are famous, but experience teaches this most well known of all English dishes ranges from the superb, crispy take-away, with memories of the sea, to the soggy and best forgotten.

Don’t forget the uncrowned king of the world’s breakfasts, the full English, with lean bacon, pork sausages (bangers), sunny-side-up eggs, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and grilled mushrooms.  (See a previous post!)

What else?  On the special side, few things compare to a well-cooked standing rib, what the English call a joint of beef, some Yorkshire pudding, browned in beef drippings, deeply golden roasted potatoes, and some well-cooked vegetables.  Makes me think of that English institution, Simpson’s In the Strand.  By the way, well cooked doesn’t mean well done!  The Brits appreciate rare beef as much as anyone.

What about cheeses?  No, the English can’t compete with the French in variety, or subtlety, but the cheeses the English do produce are wonderful:  The quintessential Stilton, of course, plus a range of blues, and cheddars. Next time you’re in a top-end grocer’s, try a bit of English cheese and savor the full flavors and delicious complexities.

But, you get to the heart of longed-for English dishes when you step through the inviting doors of a traditional pub.  I refer to the so-called Pub Grub.  Steak and kidney pie.  The kidneys are finely minced and you don’t notice them, but they add flavor.  Steak and ale pie.  And, -roll of the drums-, my all time favorite, Shepherd’s pie.

None of these are difficult to make, but let’s make my quick version of the favorite.

Shepherd’s Pie

2 lbs ground lamb (or substitute 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb ground beef)

2 cans Campbell’s condensed beef consume

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup water

1 large onion, diced

1 large (16 to 20 oz) package of frozen, mixed vegetables (I use Birdseye Classic Mix)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon marjoram

1 heaping tablespoon, chopped fresh dill, or 1 measured of tablespoon dried dill

2 heaping tablespoons flour, mixed with enough cold water to make a milky consistency

salt and pepper to taste

7 large baking potatoes

Cook the meat in a large skillet, breaking it up and stirring until all the pink has disappeared.  If you don’t have a large enough skillet, use a Dutch oven.  When the meat is done, pour off any excess grease.  Add the diced onion and cook until it’s translucent. Pour in the cans of beef consume and the cup of wine.  As it comes to a boil, add a cup of water and the vegetables and herbs.  Cook until the vegetables are tender.  Add the flour/water roux and mix.  Cook until the gravy begins to thicken.  Set the pan aside, while you make the mashed potatoes.

But, first, take a second to heat your oven to 350ºF (190ºC).

If you choose to use powdered potatoes, don’t!  Disappointment lurks around the corner, as appetizing as a flaccid French fry.  Start from scratch.  Peel the potatoes, and slice them into chunks.  Plop them in salted, hot water and bring to a boil.  The potatoes are cooked when a fork easily slides into one of the big chunks.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl.  Add a stick of butter, cut into pats, and use a pastry cutter, or potato masher to break the potatoes up and mix in the butter.  Time to drag out the hand mixer and finish the job.  Depending on the consistency of the potatoes, you may want to add a half-cup of milk while you’re getting the potatoes fluffy.

Back to the vegetable-meat mixture.  Put it in a large baking dish and use a spatula to spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the top.  When the surface is fairly smooth, use the tines of a fork to make a decorative pattern in the potatoes.

Slide the Shepard’s pie into the oven and bake it until the potato topping is looking crusty, with edges and peaks of light brown.

Grab yourself a Newcastle Brown Ale and serve your Shepherd’s pie to admiring guests and fellow anglophiles.  Let the French scoff.  When you mention anything English, they  scoff anyway.