Fridge leftover Shepherd's Pie

Have u looked INTO YOUR FRIDGE lately?  Look way behind all those cartons and into the vegetable bin too.

Well, it all started after i cleaned my oven. Hmmm.. long time no bake.  Then i opened the fridge and saw three whole large, already skinned & steamed potatoes in a container in the fridge. Gotta to do something with this or else it will be in the trash by weekend.

My recipe stash

Looking at the ingredients available in my fridge, I decided on Shepherd's Pie. But i couldnt find the recipe and so i had to rely on

1. Fuzzy memory - i think the crust is potatoes + butter, filling is tomato paste + assortment of veg & mince meat
2. Gut feeling - i only have 3 potatoes. How big an area can it cover? So i mash my potatoes to get an idea how much filling & how many pans can it make
3. Logic - Filling ingredients should be cubed so there's more bite as i will not be using much meat. That which takes longer to cook should be cut in smaller cubes(eg. fresh carrots). When cooking the filling saute the harder to cook pieces first. Add meat before the veg as u want to seal in the juice of the meat.  Large button mushroom from can somehow tastes better cubed & not sliced.
4. Wisdom culled from my mom ( a dash of salt makes all the different to bring out the flavour of other ingredients & more onions - dish will be sweeter) & celebrity chef - Chef Wan (when u use tomato paste or fresh tomatoes, must balance the tanginess with a little sugar)
5. Visual cues - When cooking the filling, pay attention to the base. If it starts drying up, add a  little boiled water. After adding tomato paste, mix it and switch off once it has a little gravy and look sticky, not watery. If watery still, add a dash of flour or cook a little longer on high heat to evaporate the extra liquid. Try not to over cook as it will again be baked in the oven.
6. Sense of smell - How long to bake? U should stop once the aroma is strong or begins to emerge.



Here's how it went -

I vaguely recalled making shepherd's pie some years ago.  This is today's ingredient list, measurement & cooking steps :

For Crust

1. Took 3 boiled & pealed potatoes and cut it coarsely in a shallow plate
2. From a stick of butter, i cut out a 1/2 inch slice and place on a metal saucer over my electric stove. Set to the lowest heat setting and kept an eye on it. Once it started to melt, i switched off the power. Do not wait for all butter to melt or else it will burn!
3. Poured this onto the potatoes and use two forks to mash it with the butter. Butter makes it easier and smoother. Then i sprinkled some fine salt and ground some black pepper into it. Depending on the type of potato used, this may be a simple job or it may take some brawn and u still have lumps. It's ok. Leave it covered on the table so the flavours can gell. Idea : if u have some fresh herbs like dill, chop finely and mix in.

For Filling

1. Decided not to cube the eggplant, so i sliced it thinly and poured some olive oil & a dash of salt & black pepper to let it work the flavours. Tip : partially skin the eggplant in stripes so that there will not be too much tough skin. 
2. Coarsely sliced the large onions into half rings. Cubed the big button mushrooms (used one whole tin), Took out the frozen mixed veg of carrots, corn and green peas. Sliced a few sausages into thin discs.
3. Heated a little olive oil in a frying pan and put in the onions, sausages, mixed veg and mushrooms. Stir fried it for a few minutes. Sprinkled about 1-2 tablespoons of plain flour (or self-raising flour, which ever is at hand). had to keep stirring or else the flour will brown too quickly. Dont make a mistake of pouring too much flour. It gives a too gooey, flat taste. Flour is used to make the brown sauce. I'd rather not use corn flour as thickener. Flour is better to give a slight gravy, semi-dry. .
4. Lastly, add 2-3 teaspoons of tomato paste (I always keep a small can of Du Chef Tomato Paste), a little sugar and salt.

For extra ummph, add a dash of chillie flakes (keep those from Dominos pizza - very handy to spice up a dish)

To assemble

1. I used mom's regtangular pyrex dish so that i can see the layers, yet it is safe as the heat will go up to 200 degrees for almost half hour. Check pls, not all glassware can. Even if it is thick. Alternatively use a metal dish or ceramic dish.
2. Poured the  filling into the dish to almost full. And added a layer of eggplant and toped with a slice of Bega's Black Pepper cheese (that was in the fridge for sometime). 
3. Next, spread out a layer of mashed potatoes and its ready to bake!

Baking
I always forget to pre-heat the oven. So i switched on the oven and put dial to 175 degrees. I put in the dish and started first round of  25 mins. (actually wanted to do 20 mins but added 5 mins to get oven heated up - but don't do this way for cakes - they r more sensitive).  I keep a watch out & monitor the smell from the oven :)



After 25 mins, potatoes still looked bland, so i turned the heat up to 200 degrees and put another 20 mins. That started things kicking!  10 mins later u can smell the wonderful aroma of butter and baked potatoes. i checked visually from the oven door. Wanted the potatoes to be brownish and crisp! 10 mins later --- PERFECTION ! (if i do say so myself.. hehehe)

Just out of the oven!

Btw, there was enough for another smaller dish. So made another!