Lamb Ragu Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 8-10
Prep time 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1-1.5kg easy carve lamb shoulder or boneless leg of lamb rolled, keep whole, but remove any string.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
300g carrots, sliced
2 leeks, sliced
70g tomato puree
200ml red wine
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
200ml lamb or beef stock
2/3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1-2 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water.
For the topping
1.5kg Maris Piper potatoes, cut into 3cm chunks
25g butter
Salt and pepper
Splash milk
75g grated mature cheddar
Once the ragu has slow cooked you will have a delicious melt in the mouth base for your creamy mash. You can either ladle this into an ovenproof baking dish or smaller individual pie dishes before topping with the mash. Alternatively, you can use your Crock-Pot stoneware bowl as its ovenproof.
METHOD
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when it is hot, brown your lamb on all sides. This is not necessary but does add a lovely flavour to the finished dish, so it’s worth taking the time to do this. Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Add the onion garlic, carrots and leeks to the frying pan and gently sauté until beginning to soften, roughly about 10 minutes.
Spoon the vegetables into the Crock-Pot bowl. Add the tomato puree, red wine, chopped tomatoes, stock and rosemary sprigs and stir well.
Place the browned lamb into the bowl and nestle this down amongst the vegetables and sauce.
Cover with the lid. Ensure the digital clock on your Crock-Pot is displaying the correct time. Select Schedule Meal. Choose the Meat setting, Full Pot. Adjust the hour and minutes you would like your food to be ready for, then press the flashing start button to begin cooking.
To prepare the mash – place the potatoes into a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat, simmering for approx. 20 minutes until soft. Drain well and add back into the pan.
Add the butter, seasoning and a splash of milk or cream and mash until smooth. Set aside. Once the lamb has finished cooking, carefully remove from the Crock-Pot bowl and place onto a plate or board.
Heat your oven to 200c 180 fan.
At this stage you mayl want to thicken your sauce, this can be completed within the pot by gradually stirring in the cornflour and water until the desired consistency is reached. Adjust the seasoning and remove the rosemary sprigs.
Using 2 forks, gently pull the lamb apart into bite sized chunks. At this stage you can ladle out some of the sauce to use as gravy if you like.
Top with the mash or decant into your desired dish/dishes before topping.
Sprinkle with the grated cheese, then bake in a hot oven for approx. 20 minutes until brown and crispy.
Serve with some steamed vegetables or buttery peas and the extra sauce on the side.
