Shepherd’s Pie with Colcannon

Ingredients for the Meat filling

1 teaspoon olive oil
1.5 lbs ground lamb
1 medium onion (2 cups), chopped
4 carrots (1.25 cups), cut into 1/4 inch coin pieces
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1.75 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the Mash

2.5 lbs (1.133kg) potatoes, peeled & cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound (5 cups) cabbage (preferably Savoy), thinly sliced
2/3 cup whole milk, warmed
4 tablespoons butter, melted (plus more for brushing)
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions for the Meat Filling

Heat the oil in a large pan over Medium High heat. Add in the lamb and cook for about 10 minutes, or until browned in places. Remove from pan and set aside for now.
Remove excess fat from the pan, and set to Medium heat. Fry the onion and carrot and cook until softened and golden in places, about 8 minutes or so.
Add in the tomato paste, stir and cook for a minute or so.
Add in the flour, stir, and cook for another minute or so.
Return the lamb and any juices to the pan.
Add in the Worcestershire sauce, broth, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Bring to a boil, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.
Once boiling, turn the heat down to Medium Low and simmer until slightly thickened, about a minute or 2.
Remove from heat, stir in the frozen peas and parsley, and transfer to the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish.

Directions for the Mash

Bring a large pot full of lightly salted water to the boil. Add in the potatoes and simmer until tender, about 15 minute or so.
Drain, place them in the bowl you’ll use to mash them up in, and cover and keep warm for now.
Return the now-empty pot to the stovetop, add in the oil and turn to Medium heat.
Add in the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has collapsed and wilted.
Remove the cabbage from the pot and add it to the potato-mashing bowl.
Add the butter and milk, and mash and stir until you get your preferred consistency.
Season to taste.
Spread the potato mash evenly over your meat filling in the baking dish, brushing the top with butter.
Bake in an oven preheated to 375F (190C, maybe 170C for fan-assisted) until golden brown on top and bubbling along the edges, about 30-35 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving so it fall apart less.

My Notes

I used a can of sweetcorn (which was about 300g drained) instead of the 1 cup of peas. I used lamb broth instead of chicken. I also had frozen cabbage to use up, so it totalled about 7 cups. Since I didn’t need to wilt it, I just simmered for 3-4 minutes in the water I’d used to cook the potatoes in.
This made 4 x loaf tins full. (I didn’t fill the tins all the way to the top since we like to keep our portions smaller, and we’ll have veg on the side with this.)
We really like colcannon but it’s no issue to skip the cabbage if you’re not a fan. You could also use beef instead of lamb, or a half and half mix of both.