Life of Pie: Dawn of the Shepherd’s Pie

Whose Pie is it Anyway?

The Shepherd’s pie is considered an embodiment of simple, comfort food that has suddenly gained popularity. This made me wonder if the pie had an exceptional story behind it or if there was anything more to know about its seemingly uncertain roots. In my experience, if a dish has been around for a while, it has various stories to tell.

Tales of the origin of the Shepherd’s pie have called for disputes every now and then. Surprisingly, the genesis of the pie was unexplored till the latter part of 1800s and the dish got its name only in the 1870s. Ever since then, the Shepherd’s pie has become the ultimate comfort food; baked with minced lamb and a golden-brown crust of mashed potatoes.

But where did this comfort food actually emerge from?

Scotland and Northern England have dibs on the apparent origin of the pie and it seems like a legit possibility, considering how prominently this dish is embedded into the culture of UK. Even the North Americans claimed the pie as their own but their countless claims of contributing to the culinary world are starting to reek of the bleak reality — the American pie is most likely a mythological figment.

Every Shepherd’s Dream Grub

The Shepherd’s pie gets the moniker from the presence of lamb in it. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it’s a favourite with the Shepherds. Though, there’s no denying though that the original recipe is probably every shepherd’s dream come true; a wholesome and scrumptious promise of warm, comfort food. However, unlike other comfort food, the comfort in this fare has nothing to do with the fresh ingredients; or lack thereof.

As it turns out, the original Shepherd’s pie was any baked dish that could be whipped up with leftovers. I suppose this was met with the realization that the substitute to filthy leftovers is the stuff unpleasant dreams are made of! Somewhere between looming in the nightmares of English school kids and making the occasional appearance onto the menus of traditional Irish pubs, this delicacy made it big.

The Pie of the People

Of course over the course of time, variations of this pie have popped up. For instance, if Shepherd’s pie is made with beef instead of lamb, it’s called the ‘Cottage pie.’ The North American spin on the Shepherd’s pie has a layer of corn and beef with mashed potatoes and is known as the ‘Cowboy pie’. The vegetarian version is labelled as the shepherdess pie and uses soy protein, mycoprotein and beans. In all probability, none of these can ever match up to the magic of the good ol’ Shepherd’s pie.

The recipe of the Shepherd’s pie will continue to symbolize the epitome of comfort food; a humble meal for the humble man!

Don’t miss out the Shepard’s Pie featuring on FreshMenu on the 24th of August 2016