Air Fryer Shepherd's Pie - Family Favourite Recipe

Source video by Kitchen Sanctuary on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This family favourite shepherd's pie features seasoned lamb mince with onions, celery and carrots in a rich gravy, topped with buttery mashed potato that crisps up beautifully on top. The original recipe is oven-baked, but the assembled pie translates well to an air fryer using an appropriately sized dish. Extra gravy is reserved from the pan to serve alongside. This adapted version is sized for 4 servings (half the original batch) to suit a typical air fryer.

Ingredients

• 900 gfloury potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 60 mldouble cream
• 60 gunsalted butter
• 0.25 tspsalt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper

• 1 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 wholeonion, finely diced
• 1 wholecelery stick, finely chopped
• 1 wholecarrot, peeled and finely diced
• 450 glamb mince
• 0.25 tspsalt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 500 mlbeef or lamb stock
• 1 tbspcornflour, heaped, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water (add late)

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes, place in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until a knife slides easily through them.

   ~18 min

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the diced onion, chopped celery and diced carrot. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until they start to soften.

   ~5 min

3. Add the lamb mince and cook until browned, breaking up any pieces as you go.

   ~6 min

4. Stir in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

   ~5 min

5. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander. Pass them through a potato ricer into a separate bowl for smooth, lump-free mash.

   ~3 min

6. Add the double cream, butter, salt and pepper to the riced potatoes and mix together until smooth and creamy.

   ~2 min

7. Mix the cornflour with cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the simmering lamb mixture to thicken the sauce. Add a little more if you like it thicker, then turn off the heat.

   ~2 min

8. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the lamb mixture into an air-fryer-safe baking dish, leaving most of the gravy in the pan to serve alongside.

   ~2 min

9. Top the lamb with the mashed potato and flatten with the back of a spoon. Rough up the top with a fork to create lots of crispy peaks.

   ~2 min

10. Preheat the air fryer to 180°C. Place the pie in the basket and cook for 15 minutes until the mashed potato top is golden brown. Check at 12 minutes as air fryer power varies.

    ~15 min

11. Serve with the reserved meaty gravy from the pan.

    ~1 min

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