Lamb and Eggplant Shepherd’s Pie

This is one recipe that I tend to make at some point every winter. It’s that good. And I’ve tinkered a little, but in general, I make it almost as I read it a few years ago. I roast the eggplant instead of sauté it as I like the flavor and texture better. I lose the whole milk because it definitely doesn’t need it. I use bone-in lamb because it enhances the flavor of the gravy. I often change up the cheese and sometimes I add mushrooms, but I can’t take credit for dreaming this one up.

filling
1 ½ pound eggplant, unpeeled, cut into ¾- to 1-inch cubes
sea salt
olive oil
3 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into ½ – 1-inch cubes; reserve bones
flour
3 cups diced onions
1 or 2 large portabella mushroom caps; diced
1 cup dry white wine
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes in juice
3 cups beef broth
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano

topping
2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or a teaspoon of paste
¾ cup milk
6 ounces grated sheep’s milk cheese – go Greek with kasseri or Italian with a pecorino romano- I chose petit Basque- a French Basque cheese

Start with the filling:

Scatter eggplant on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt; let stand 1 hour, tossing occasionally. This draws out excess water from the eggplant. Preheat oven to 400°. Rinse eggplant to remove the excess salt and pat dry. Toss in 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast in the oven 40 minutes tossing at 10 minute intervals. Reserve for later.Mix 1 cup flour with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Coat the lamb with this mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of lamb. Sauté until browned, flipping as little as possible (8- 10 minutes). Transfer lamb to large bowl. Repeat with 2 tablespoons oil and remaining lamb.

Add onions and mushrooms to the stock pot in which you cooked the lamb. Add the lamb bones you reserved (count them so you can make sure you remove them all from the gravy before you put it in the oven). Cook over medium-low heat until tender (10 minutes). Add the white wine to pot. Increase heat and cook until wine evaporates, scraping up browned bits (5 minutes). Add tomatoes with juice, broth, garlic and oregano and bring to a boil. At this point, remove the bones. Add lamb and juices. Cover; reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and continue to simmer until lamb is very tender and gravy thickens (45- 75 minutes). Stir in eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking dish or dishes. There will be about 4 quarts of volume.

Topping
I start the topping while the filling is simmering so it’s ready as soon as I want to start baking the shepherd’s pie.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender (start checking with a fork after 10 minutes).  Meanwhile, melt butter with oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add milk and bring to simmer.

Drain potatoes. Return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add milk mixture and mash potatoes until just smooth. Stir in cheese. Season with salt. Cover the filling with the mashed potatoes in small spoonfuls.

Bake pie until filling is heated through and topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Serve with cabbage, soda bread, a great red and cold weather.Ready already: It’s a true slow cooked meal, so you can break it into two days by making the filling in advance. Remove from fridge one hour before you start the topping so it will have some time to warm up before it bakes. And the whole thing reheats really well, so if you need to prep the whole thing a day ahead, that will work too. Again, remember to give it some time to come to room temp or it will take forever to reheat.