As much as I love a good roast leg of lamb, I love the leftovers even more! There is so much that you can do with the leftovers and this is just one option. For example, I love making an Icelandic style lamb soup with lots of vegetables and herbs, frying it it a pan with the left over gravy or what ever I feel like making. And if I get my hands on an Icelandic leg of lamb it makes it so much more special! You just have to taste it to believe it :)
You can use what ever recipe you want for the roast lamb but I certainly recommend using something like this garlic and herb marinated leg of lamb. Go and buy a bigger leg then you would normally buy, cook a bit more vegetables than normally and just make a little bit more of everything so you have enough left over to make this recipe.
I know this is not a traditional Shepherd's pie, but it is my version, and to be honest, it's pretty damn good :) You can easily change it, use different vegetables and give it your own personal twist. This is such a good, family friendly dish and something that my kids absolutely love!
Leftover leg of lamb, for this recipe I had just over half a large leg
1 large onion
2 carrots
leftover vegetables if you have it, it can be anything like beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts....
leftover gravy if you have it, I around 300 ml
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
oil for frying
Start by finely chopping the onion and carrots and gently cook in some oil on medium heat in a large casserole pan until soft and starting to brown a little bit. Add the finely chopped lamb, any leftover gravy and vegetables you might have, tomatoes, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. If you treated yourself to some red wine with the roast and have some left over, go ahead and throw in a glass or so to make this even better! Season with a little salt and pepper and any herbs you might have, rosemary and Thyme are especially good. Let this simmer on low heat for at least and hour but 2 hours is perfect! While this is bubbling away you can start on your mash to go on top.
Mashed potatoes
Cooked potatoes, baked or boiled
100 gr butter
200 ml milk or as needed
little grating of nutmeg
salt and pepper
I had some left over baked potatoes and one small sweet potato but you can cook them how ever you like, either bake or boil. Heat the milk and butter until butter is melted into the milk. Mash the potatoes and add milk and butter until you have the consistency you are happy with. Season with salt and pepper and a little bit of nutmeg.
Once the meat sauce is ready and you are happy with the flavour, put it in an ovenproof dish, mash on top and into the oven at 200° fan for 20-30 minutes. I like to go over the mash with a fork to ruffle it up a bit so the tops brown a bit. I like serving this sort of food with some nice green vegetables. This time I steamed some beans and broccoli for 6 minutes, mixed together olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and poured it over while the vegetables were still warm. It's nice and fresh with a very hearty dish. This is a proper winter dish, healthy and tasty :)
