A spicy twist on an old family favourite that's soft, tender and easy to go down. Perfect for your next shared dinner 🍽️ 🥧
I was racking my brain this week for something a little bit different to eat after a few hot weeks that mainly consisted of salads. For me, a Shepherd's Pie is very much a winter treat but this felt, and tasted, so different. It turns out it was exactly what I felt like and no harder to make than the original.
I chose to work with a lamb shoulder because I love lamb and it traditionally suits the harissa and moroccan spices well. The shoulder cut is also very tender and easily softens when slow cooked making it a good piece of meat to work with for both a Regular Easy to Chew diet and a Soft and Bite Sized diet. The only (somewhat) hassle is cutting it up into small enough pieces to comply with the Soft and Bite sized criteria. But honestly, worse things have happened.
I made a note to remove the fat from the cut of meat but if you don't mind a little extra texture and fat in your mix, then it should also soften while slow cooking. While I was cutting up the meat into very compliant soft and bite sized pieces 🙃 I was making sure to cut against the grain where possible. Of course, if they are going to be small cubes, the fibres are going to be small anyway but always something to keep in mind so that there is less work to be done in the mouth to chew and break down those stringy fibres in the meat.
I was a little but surprised how quickly my lamb mixture absorbed the water that I added. So I was sure to make sure the heat was on low to slow down the process and added a little extra water, as I felt it was required (per the recipe). It was important to remember that I was going to be putting the pie in the oven for a little while after slow cooking it so it needed to be a little more wet than I intended the finished product to be. Remember, you can always add more water as you go and stray from the recipe as necessary in this way. Just keep an eye on it and test as you go! The longer you cook for, the softer the meat will be and you can keep adding water as you need.
My choice of sweet potato mash was quite literally a spark of inspiration while I was standing in the middle of the market on a Saturday morning. It just felt ✨ right ✨. When I tasted it though, I felt that it was under delivering compared to it's base of a rich spiced harissa lamb so I threw a little cumin in it to get things a bit more exciting. It hits all the right notes and the two components fall together very nicely.
When placing the pie in the oven it's really important to make sure that the sweet potato mash doesn't dry out. I considered not placing it in the oven but it really makes a difference to the structure and layering of the elements. It holds it's shape nicely once it cools down and the mash maintains its moisture with a short 10-15 minute stint in the oven.
When I was choosing this dish, I was a little bit torn as to which consistency to post it under because although I have outlined a recipe for Soft and Bite Sized (Level 6), this is VERY easily modified to a Regular Easy to Chew (Level 7) or a Minced and Moist diet (Level 5), simply by either cutting the meat into bigger pieces or using a lamb mince instead of the lamb shoulder. Your Moroccan Lamb and Sweet Potato Pie is your oyster! 🦪
Moroccan Lamb and Sweet Potato Pie
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Moroccan Lamb
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion, diced into 1.5 x 1.5cm pieces
500-550g of boneless lamb shoulder, diced as above
2 large carrots, diced as above
2 Tbsp moroccan spice
?dry white wine
2 Tbspb of Harissa
1x tin of diced tomatoes
400ml water
Sweet Potato Mash
750g sweet potato, peeled and diced
60g of butter
½ cup of milk or cream
1.5 tsp of cumin, ground
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
Once warmed, add the onion and allow to cook slowly on a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until translucent.
Add the lamb and cook on high for about 5 minutes or until browned on all sides, stirring and turning the meat intermittently.
Next, add the carrots and Moroccan spice, stirring well to mix with other ingredients and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
Add a splash of dry white wine to deglaze and coat the contents of the pan. Simmer for about 3 minutes or until absorbed.
Add the tinned tomatoes, harissa, water and stock to the pan and stir well to combine.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 60 mins or until the meat is tender and can be squashed with a fork, and the sauce thickened.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
While the lamb cooks, prepare the sweet potato.
Place the diced sweet potato in a pot of boiling water.
Allow to cook for approximately 12 minutes or until sweet potato is easily broken apart with spoon.
Remove from the stove and drain well.
Add the butter and cream to the drained sweet potato and mash until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Add the cumin and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the pie filling into a large pie dish or small individual ramekins. Dollop the mash on top and spread evenly with the back of a fork or spoon.
Place in a moderate oven for approximately 15 minutes for the pie to warm and set. However, be cautious that the mash doesn’t dry out or develop a crust.
Allow to cool before serving.
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