Thatched Lamb and Eggplant Pie

Yet, another mince meat recipe? What can I say, I love minced meat (hats off to the creator of mincer machine and my buther who handles the machinery).

I would normally prefer minced beef or chicken but lately, I was feeling a tad adventurous in the cooking department. You couldn’t imagine how many times I have gone back and forth with a tray of minced lamb from my shopping cart to the fridge at the local grocers. Ok, I have a good reason for being indecisive. I love eating lamb but only if it is cooked properly. The unpleasant gamey after taste when it was not cooked properly is too much for me to bear (sounding like a drama queen here!). Moreover, I was scarred from a series of bad experiences with my friends’ lamb dishes. Perhaps it’s a sign that I should look for friends who are better cooks? Well, because of these reasons I have this impression that lamb is difficult to cook.

Anyway, I came across this recipe from Woman’s Day All Colour Book fo Cooking For Two. It is called thatched lamb and eggplant pie, hence the title of the post. The ingredients seemed to be simple enough and the method section was only one small paragraph. This screams like a promising recipe and I’m glad that it is.

Thatched Lamb and Eggplant Pie

(adapted from Woman’s Day All Colour Book fo Cooking For Two)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

250g of minced lamb

1 small onion peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove peeled and chopped

2 tbsp of butter

2 tsps of plain flour

1 X 225g can tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1/3 cup stock (I’ve aded water instead)

Salt

Black Pepper

1 small eggplant (I used Lebanese eggplant) chopped

375g potatoes, peeled, cooked & mashed

2 tsp of thyme (my personal addition)

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan (I used a pan that is oven friendly to save on washing) and fry the onion and garlic until lightly browned.

2. Stir in minced lamb and thyme (*optional) and cook slowly for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, then add tomatoes with the can juice, tomato paste, stock/water, salt and pepper to taste. Bring slowly to the boil.

4. Add the eggplant, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Add a little more stock/water if necessary to prevent sticking, until tender and thick.

(Note: On the contrary, I add the eggplant together with the lamb and cook till they are soften and add the tomatoes and other liquid ingredients later. I don’t think it matters or does it?)

5. Pipe the potato over the mixture in a lattice patter. Brown under a preheated hot grill.

(Note: In order to be fuss free, I just spooned the mash over the mixture)

Enjoy!