THE OLD AND THE NEW
Two takes on shepherd’s pie
Do you like shepherd’s pie? I never did. One glance at the layers of ground beef, corn and mashed potatoes and I was always transported back to my school cafeteria — or any cafeteria — where shepherd’s pie is as ubiquitous as bad lasagna.
Well at least in Quebec that’s the case, where shepherd’s pie goes by the name of pâté chinois. Perhaps coming in third in popularity after poutine and pouding chômeur, pâté chinois is a favourite dish more often found on steam tables and in home kitchens than fancy restaurants.
But that’s changing as the trend toward reinventing classic dishes now extends to this favourite.
The Brits love their shepherd’s pie, which is traditionally made with lamb (thus the shepherd reference). The dish made with minced beef is called cottage pie.
The French have a version too called “hachis parmentier” that has a gratinéed layer of Gruyère overtop.
But that’s just the beginning. You can make shepherd’s pie vegetarian with a lentil bolognese on the base and, instead of the usual spuds, how about polenta? Or you can go more complex as is the case in the pâté chinois of Montreal chef Samuel Pinard whose version of shepherd’s pie includes braised veal, duck, caramelized onions and smoked Gouda. Yum!
To show the two faces of this favourite, here are two versions: first the classic, which I’ve gussied up; and the second, Pinard’s version with more bells and whistles.