Andy Cooks Slow Cooker Shepherds Pie

Source video by Andy Cooks on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

The mince and aromatics step out of the pan and into the slow cooker for a long low cook that lets the lamb give up its flavour to the gravy without anyone watching it. The two non-negotiables on the hob are the sear (1.5 kg of lamb mince done in three 500 g batches so it actually colours) and the flour-and-fat step that sets up the gravy. From there everything moves to the slow cooker. At the end, riced potatoes with butter and milk are piled in peaks over the meat, topped with finely grated pecorino and panko breadcrumbs, and finished in a hot oven for the crust. Comfortably feeds eight.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kglamb mince
• neutral cooking oil, good glug
• onion, finely diced
• carrots, peeled and finely diced
• celery, finely diced
• garlic cloves, crushed
• fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 12 dashesWorcestershire sauce
• 2 heaped tbspplain flour
• stock (chicken, lamb or beef)
• tomato, diced
• sweetcorn kernels, from a cob, or frozen (add late)
• fine salt, season all the way through
• freshly ground black pepper

• Sebago (or other floury mashing) potatoes, peeled and cut into small fist-sized pieces (add late)
• unsalted butter, big blob (add late)
• whole milk, a glug, added slowly (add late)
• fine salt, pinch (add late)

• pecorino (or Parmesan) cheese, finely grated (add late)
• panko breadcrumbs, scattered over (add late)

Method

1. Finely dice the onion, carrots and celery. Crush the garlic. Strip and chop the rosemary and thyme leaves.

   ~10 min

2. Heat a heavy-based pan on high with a good glug of oil. Brown the lamb mince in three 500 g batches, leaving each batch undisturbed long enough to colour before breaking it up. Lift each batch out keeping the fat in the pan.

   ~20 min

3. Drop the heat to medium-high. Sweat the onion and carrot in the lamb fat for 2 to 3 minutes, then add celery, garlic, rosemary and thyme.

   ~5 min

4. Stir in the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and 2 heaped tbsp of flour. Cook the flour out for a minute, the mix will look gloopy but comes together.

   ~2 min

5. Return the lamb to the pan, add the diced tomato, then transfer the lot to the slow cooker. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper.

   ~3 min

6. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3 hours.

   ~300 min

7. Around 40 minutes before serving, put the peeled potatoes in cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook 20 to 25 minutes until a knife slides off easily.

   ~25 min

8. Drain the potatoes and leave them in the colander over the pot for 3 to 4 minutes to steam off excess water.

   ~4 min

9. Stir the sweetcorn (and any frozen peas) into the slow cooker. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

   ~1 min

10. Rice or mash the potatoes, then beat in the butter, the milk added slowly, and a pinch of salt.

    ~5 min

11. Heat the oven to 180C. Transfer the filling to a baking dish. Dollop the mash on in small pieces, leaving deliberate peaks and crevices for crunch. Push the mash firmly to the edges to seal.

    ~5 min

12. Grate pecorino over the top and scatter with panko breadcrumbs.

    ~2 min

13. Bake at 180C for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling at the edges.

    ~38 min

14. Rest for a few minutes before serving.

    ~5 min

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