#FoodieFriday – Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie – What’s the Difference?

Let’s talk about food! One of my favourite go-to hearty winter meals to cook is Shepherd’s Pie, or at least that’s what my mum called it. But apparently I’ve reached the ripe old age of 71, believing this… that was until I was out to coffee with friends, discussing what we were making for dinner and the spiralling cost of beef. It felt a bit like discovering as a child that there was no tooth fairy or Father Christmas, as I stared at them open-mouthed. No, it’s Cottage Pie, they said in chorus, not Shepherd’s pie. I asked my family. Got the same answer on our Line Dancing WhatsApp group.

Apparently, Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb or mutton, and Cottage Pie is made with Beef. I’d never considered making a pie with minced lamb. Lamb was for roasting.

It’s like us Brits have another hearty favourite called Toad in the Hole, so is the dish made with toads? Of course not, it’s made with sausages!

Anyway, I asked Wikipedia.

Shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, or in French cuisine hachis Parmentier, is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The terms shepherd’s pie and cottage pie have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd’s pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.

The term “cottage pie” is first recorded in 1791. “Shepherd’s pie” was first recorded in the nineteenth century. Some modern variations are vegetarian or vegan, using substitutes for meat and dairy ingredients.

Have you made A Shepherd’s or Cottage Pie? Why not give it a go

I also top mine with sliced tomatoes and grated cheese.

To make the veggie version, I wonder if I could adapt this recipe?

#FoodieFriday – Simple Vegetarian Lentil Chili

And now. A FUN Question

If traditional Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb/mutton, and Cottage Pie is made with beef mince, what would you call it if it were made with pork mince? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below

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