Cottage pie refers to an English meat pie made with beef mince and with a crust made from mashed potato. A variation on this dish using Lamb mince is known as Shepherd's pie.

The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791,^[1][2] when potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers).

In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top.^[3][4]

The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until the 1870s,^[2] and since then it has been used synonymously with "cottage pie", regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} There is now a popular tendency for "shepherd's pie" to be used when the meat is mutton or lamb,^[9] with the suggested origin being that shepherds are concerned with sheep^[10] and not cattle,^[11][12] however this may be an example of folk etymology.

Contents 1 Variations 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Variations

• In Ireland the dish is commonly called shepard's pie even when containing beef.

• The Australian meat pie with a layer of mashed potato replacing the usual pastry crust, is also known as a Shepherds Pie. This variant is also known in New Zealand, as a potato top pie.

• In the United States a similar dish is called cowboy pie. In New England the most common recipe for shepherd's pie consists of ground beef, canned creamed corn, and mashed potatoes.

• In Quebec, a similar dish is called Pâté chinois (Chinese pie).

• In France, a similar dish is called hachis Parmentier.

• A vegetarian version can be made using soya or other meat substitutes, or legumes such as lentils or chick peas.

• In Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and Palestine a similar dish is referred to as "Siniyet Batata" (literally meaning a plate of potatoes), or "Kibbet Batata".

• In Russia, a similar dish is called "Картофельная запеканка" (Kartofel'naya zapekanka, or "Potato baked pudding").

• A similar British dish made with fish is a fish pie

[edit] See also

• Pot pie
• Tourtiere
• Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Shepherd's Pie recipe at Wikibooks.
• The Ivy Restaurant's recipe for Shepherd’s Pie