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Irish Shepherd's Pie

A baked dish of minced beef with onions, carrots, thyme, parsley, tomato puree, and mashed potatoes.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Irish Shepherd's Pie

Time25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onions for 5 minutes.

  2. Add carrots and fry for another 5 minutes.

  3. Remove the vegetables from the pan.

  4. In the same pan, fry and cook the beef, then add salt and pepper.

  5. Put the vegetables back into the pan.

  6. Add thyme and parsley.

  7. Add flour and stir.

  8. Gradually add beef stock to the mixture.

  9. Add potato puree and reduce heat to low.

  10. Let the mixture cook for 30 minutes.

Make the topping

  1. In a saucepan, boil potatoes for 25 minutes.

  2. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt.

  3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water.

  4. Add butter and mash the potatoes.

Assemble and bake

  1. In a baking pan, pour the meat and vegetable mixture.

  2. Spread the mashed potatoes on top.

  3. Bake for 25 minutes until golden on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1189Calories
47 gProtein
42 gFat
155 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Minced beef
Provides the savory meaty base and browns during frying for depth of flavour.
Potatoes
Form the mashed topping, giving a soft, fluffy layer that browns in the oven.
Flour
Thickens the stock into a gravy that holds the filling together.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, making the mashed potatoes smooth and creamy.
Tomato puree
Adds concentrated savoury flavour and a touch of acidity to the filling.

The step that matters

Adding the beef stock to the flour. Flour clumps when liquid is added too quickly. Adding the stock gradually while stirring lets the starch disperse evenly, giving a smooth, thickened gravy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, olive, carrot, thyme, parsley, flour, tomato):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, olive, carrot, thyme, parsley, flour, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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