Diana Henry’s book, Food from Plenty, is great for recipes that use leftovers. For this one we used a large amount of leftover lamb shoulder that had been roasted for hours on the bone in a spicy marinade. The leftover lamb was tasty as it was but was totally transformed in this recipe – super spicy and delicious! Don’t be tempted to skip the spicy onion topping.
Wine Suggestion: a medium bodied, juicy and youthful red with not too many tannins. Luigi Pira’s Barbera d’Alba was perfect, as was a quirky, earthy Poulsard from Stephane Tissot from the Arbois in eastern France … we had a few people over, so could try a few different wines which was fun.
Middle Eastern shepherd’s pie with spiced parsnip crust – serves 6
FOR THE MEAT:
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 800g leftover cooked lamb, cut into small chunks
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 300ml chicken stock or lamb stock
- grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 75g raisins, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes and drained
- 6 tbsp tomato purée
- 75g pine nuts, toasted
FOR THE PARSNIP CRUST:
- 450g floury potatoes, cut into chunks
- 950g parsnips, chopped
- 50g butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper (this will make a very spicy mash so use less if you like)
- 50ml whipping cream
FOR THE SPICED ONION TOPPING:
- 2 onions, very finely sliced
- 15g butter
- 1½ tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
- 3 tsp soft dark brown sugar
- good squeeze of lemon juice
- a small bunch of coriander or mint, roughly chopped
Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb, then scoop the lamb out and set aside.
Add the onions, celery and carrots to the same pan and cook until golden. Add the garlic and spices and continue to cook for another minute. Return the lamb to the pan and add the flour. Stir for a minute, then add the stock, zest, juice, raisins and tomato purée. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 45 minutes. You will need to keep stirring now and then to prevent the mixture from sticking. It should be thick but if it looks dry add a little more stock. Add the pine nuts.
Boil the potatoes and parsnips separately until soft. Drain the potatoes, then cover with a tea towel and lid and allow to dry out over a low heat. Drain the parsnips and add to the potatoes. Heat the butter for the crust in a large saucepan with the spices. Add the potatoes and parsnips and mash, then add the cream and season to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Spoon the lamb into a large pie dish, spread the mash on top and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Meanwhile, fry the onions for the topping in the butter and oil until golden. Turn up the heat and keep cooking until starting to crisp. Add the cinnamon, chilli, salt, some salt & pepper, and sugar. Cook until slightly caramelised, then squeeze over the lemon juice and mix in the herbs. Pile the onions on top of the pie to serve.
(Original recipe from Food from Plenty by Diana Henry, Mitchell Beazley, 2011.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 