Way, Way back when I was but a lil tacker my Granmama would make Shepherd’s Pie on Monday.
Roast Lamb was Sunday tea, the left over Lamb was then put through a manual mincer.
Veg were added, plenty of tomato sauce. Topped with mash potato.
This is a true Shepherd’s Pie
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Technically, only if your grandmother was a shepherd or making a pie for one.
Anyway, are you saying that only pies made from leftover lamb after a Sunday roast can be classified as authentic Shepherd’s ones?
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I am saying that, yes.
As a way to vary the meals, and reduce food waste, the left-over roast lamb was used to make Sheperd’s Pie.
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How about if I buy some lamb pieces or mince, with the sole intention of throwing it away. Then, if I use it in a pie then I’ll have reduced wastage.
Naturally, I’ll accidentally leave it in the oven while I just happen to cook something else in there, so as to reinforce the point that my intentions were never to use it in its “bare” form.
Will that suffice?
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My Mum did a similar thing but now it is a dish people eat because they like it, so buy the meat with the intention of turning it into a Shepherd’s Pie. Still made in the same way as the wartime waste-saving recipe I suppose.
I don’t know if Shepherd’s eat it. Need to send in a Shepherd Spy to see if they do. 
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Quorn mince is a good replacement padded out with lentils and carrots.
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Yep, as long as you’re prepared to accept it for what it is Quorn mince is very acceptable, for a number of recipes.
I’ve always got some in the freezer!
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I’ve always wondered why it is that Sheperd’s pie made by sheperds for sheperds and is made with lamb
But
Cottage pie is made with beef … should it not be Cow pie or Herd pie … why is it called Cottage pie ?
I don’t mean to sound pedantic.
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Because, oh light of my life, the name derives from poor people who lived in cottages who made if from leftover meats (sometimes including sheep/lamb). It’s only become to mean that beef is the filling in recent times.
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Absolutely not!
Cow pie is a different thing entirely, much favoured by Desperate Dan…
As for stargazy pie, an entirely different kettle of fish!
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I rather like haslet … which is nothing like a cottage or a sheperd or a cow pie.
Hmm …I could just scoff some now. I’ve never made it though.
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I’d not heard of haslet - had to look it up. I found it was a minced pork meatloaf. Often served cold. Now my meatloaf is always a mix of beef mince and pork mince - delicious.
But this is a thread about pies. As I live in France, I have a longing for pies and now its winter will make a pie every so often. But they are simply not part of French cooking - not pies topped with potatoes or pies topped with pastry. Pastry is used (feuillete) but most often as a base rather than a topping, and potatoes mixed in are used (parmentier) rather than creating a pie. Personally I prefer a pastry topped minced beef & carrot pie - served with potatoes.
Two carbs in a dish? Oh yes
In fact I had to look up what French was for pie as I have never seen it. Both google and deepL came up with “tarte”. But a tarte is not a pie.
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But a tourte is 
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But now you mention it I always associate a pie as having pastry … and Sheperd’s pie has no pastry.
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Dang you are right - thanks for that. Better than deepL
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Shepherds pie is made with lamb.
Cottage pie is made with beef.
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