Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie

An example of a shepherd's pie
Type	Meat pie
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Main ingredients	Beef Lamb mashed potatoes
Variations	Cumberland pie, Shepherdess pie

Shepherd's pie (made with minced lamb) or cottage pie (made with minced beef) is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.

In the United States, the dish can vary widely, whether as a home recipe or a standard menu item in an Irish pub. The most common ingredients are ground meat (usually beef), mixed with 1 or 2 vegetables, and topped with potatoes. The meat and vegetables sometimes include chopped onion and may be cooked in gravy, tomato sauce or tomato paste. Some recipes say to sprinkle grated cheese on the mashed potatoes.

The term cottage pie was in use by 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers). The term shepherd's pie did not appear until 1854, and since then it is sometimes used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the principal ingredient is beef or mutton. In the United Kingdom, the term shepherd's pie is typically used when the meat is lamb.

In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top.