Shepherd’s pie

… or cottage pie or cowboy pie has – from the point of my view – very interesting history: the term “cottage pie” is known to have been in use approx. since 1790, when potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor ("cottage” = modest dwelling). Recipes from this time are describing this dish as a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with sliced potatoes (though in modern days it is as a standard to use mashed potatoes as a topping). When they were cooked, they looked like the tiles of a cottage roof. This is probably how the dish got its name. The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until the 1870, and since then it has been used synonymously with "cottage pie", regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton.
Thanks to my dear colleague, great cook and pastry-cook Laura I’m presenting you today among of thousand of variations.
 

Ingredients:

1 onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 small zucchini (peeled off or not – and cut into cubes)
1 small squash (peeled and seedless – cut into cubes)
1/2 cup of sweet peas
1 bowl of sliced boiled chicken or turkey meat
piece of pastrami or ham
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 bigger potatoes
1 cup milk
piece of butter
salt and pepper
 

Directions:

1. Roast onion in the pan and add carrot and bay leaves. In the meantime prepare mashed potatoes (peeled and boiled potatoes mix with hot milk and butter, then whip and add some salt).

2. Add pastrami or ham to the onion and carrot mixture follow by sliced chicken or turkey meat.

3. In the end add cubes of zucchini and squash and cook shortly (5 minutes), add some salt and pepper.

4. Add the ready mixture into a baking pan or casserole and cover with mashed potatoes.

5. Bake in the oven 180°C (350°F) until the mashed potatoes turn red on their surface.