Cottage Pie

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 pounds lean ground lamb
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ½ cups water, or as needed
• 1 (12 ounce) package frozen peas and carrots, thawed
•  

Ingredients for Potato Topping

• 2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup cream cheese
• ¼ pound Irish cheese (such as Dubliner®), shredded
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 T milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place olive oil and butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in onion and ground lamb; brown the meat, breaking it up into small crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour until incorporated, then mix in salt, black pepper, rosemary, paprika, cinnamon, ketchup, and garlic; cook and stir until garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir in water and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and bring mixture to a simmer; cook and stir until thick, about 5-6 minutes.
• Remove lamb mixture from heat and stir in peas and carrots until combined.
• Spread lamb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.

For potatoes

• Place potatoes into a large pan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Drain well and return potatoes to pan.
• Mash butter, cayenne pepper, cream cheese, and Irish cheese into the potatoes. Mash until combined and potatoes are smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• Whisk together egg yolk and milk in a small bowl; stir into the mashed potato mixture.

Bring it all together

• Top the lamb mixture in the baking dish with the mashed potatoes and spread evenly to cover.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sources: Chef John's Irish Shephard's Pie and https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220519/irish-shepherds-pie/