♪ Zip-a-dee-do-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay! ♪♪
This is how I feel when I eat lamb – I love the rich, gamey taste. But, I love it even better when I add it to a pie and flavour it with a full-bodied red wine and some diced vegetables!
So here is my recipe for Shiraz and Lamb Pie – made with puff pastry and lamb that has been slow-cooked in red wine and stock until the meat ‘falls apart.’ For my pie, I used Shiraz wine, made from the dark-skinned Syrah grape. Originally from France, this grape is now grown globally and is especially popular in Australia.
This wine is called Syrah in some parts of the world, but it’s the Australians that popularised the name Shiraz. (Leave it to the Aussies to come up with interesting names for things; i.e. chickens are called ‘chooks’ and breakfast is ‘brekkie’). Whatever you call it, this dish is high up on the list of comfort foods!
For those of you wondering what ‘Zip-a dee-do-dah’ is, I’ve attached a ‘feel-good’ YouTube video at the end of this blog for you to look at!
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, please do ‘like’ my G’day Souffle’ Facebook page!
Shiraz and Lamb Pie
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lb) diced leg of lamb
- Flour for dusting
- 1 onion and 1 carrot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
- 500 ml (2 cups) beef stock
- 375 ml Shiraz or other red wine
- Several sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 – 8 fresh mushrooms, sliced thinly
- ½ cup green peas (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dust the chopped lamb pieces in some flour and shake to remove the excess.
- Heat several tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Brown the lamb pieces over medium high heat on the stove top for several minutes. Transfer to a dish.
- Add the diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the Dutch Oven (or pot) and cook until tender (3 – 4 minutes). Add lamb pieces back into the pot with the veggies, then add the wine and beef stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a soft boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let simmer on low heat for 1.5 – 2 hours or until the meat falls apart and is easy to shred. If necessary, add more stock to the pot to ensure the ingredients are fully covered by the cooking liquid.
- About 10 minutes before the lamb is fully cooked, add the sliced mushrooms and peas (optional) to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Strain the meat and veggies from the cooking liquid. Separate the meat from the veggies and shred it using a fork to ‘mash’ the meat fibers.
- Place the shredded lamb and cooked veggies into a pie or casserole dish, filling the dish almost to the top.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (360 F).
- Return the cooking liquid to the stovetop and let simmer until the sauce reduces to about ¾ of the original volume. If required, add a bit of cornflour paste to the liquid to thicken it further. Add the sauce on top of the lamb mixture.
- Remove the frozen puff pastry sheet from the freezer and let it thaw for several minutes. Then place it on top of the pie or casserole dish (containing the lamb mixture). If necessary, trim the outer edges of the pie so that the pastry fits neatly around the rim of the dish. Brush the dough lightly with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with a little water).
- Cook for 30 minutes or until the crust turns a golden brown.
15 Comments
Joanne T Ferguson
March 17, 2014 at 2:57 pmG’day! LOVE that video…was my fave movie of the day Fran, true!
Your lamb pie looks absolutely delicious and great photo too!
Cheers! Joanne
Fran
March 17, 2014 at 3:23 pmThanks, Joanne. As usual, you’re the first to comment and I really appreciate it!
Adrian (food rehab)
March 17, 2014 at 4:19 pmHaha the second pic just made my day! Well, that and this beautifully boozey pie
★★★★★
Fran
March 18, 2014 at 10:32 amThanks Adrian for the comment. Yes, that second pic makes me smile just looking at it!
John@Kitchen Riffs
March 18, 2014 at 2:43 amI really love lamb too. My favorite red meat. Never made it into a pie, but I should. And with Shiraz? Yes, please.
Fran
March 18, 2014 at 10:33 amHi John, it’s easy making a pie with lamb. Just put the ingredients in a pie plate or casserole dish and place a sheet of puff pastry on top!
Judit + Corina
March 18, 2014 at 3:46 amOh Fran, this is one heavenly lamb pie! Love the crispy top and the Shiraz is utterly delicious with lamb. Have to try it soon:)
Cheers,
J+C
★★★★★
Juliana
March 18, 2014 at 8:47 amI just learned to appreciate lamb recently so now when I see lamb on the menu is a must try…
I have never had lamb pie…from the ingredients it sure sounds delicious…and it sure looks awesome.
Thanks for the recipe Fran…have a wonderful week ahead 😀
GourmetGetaways
March 19, 2014 at 4:07 pmLol! Love the sheep in that YouTube!
This pie would be just the thing for dinner tonight… I only wish it was waiting for me when I got home, it sounds so rich and delicious!
Daniela
March 21, 2014 at 10:24 amLamb and Shiraz is a perfect combination.
The pie looks fantastic and the pics are gorgeous!
Amira
March 25, 2014 at 9:46 amAlthough I do not like lamb meat but this is a great and easy recipe that I can adopt and use beef instead 🙂 . Great post .
Rachel
March 26, 2014 at 3:40 pmThis looks amazing! I will definitely be trying this one!
Greymaks
September 16, 2015 at 12:44 amJust made this for a late lunch, early dinner. It was really good and even my fuss pot husband enjoyed it. A very warming dish for a cold February day. And of course I couldn t let the shiraz go to waste so a nice glass with the meal paired very nicely.
Marcia
February 14, 2016 at 10:13 pmLamb is hard to get in Japan, but I pulled out all the stops to try this recipe. Being an Aussie with British parents this pie brought back memories. The wine was the perfect touch. Definitely will cook this one again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Fran
February 15, 2016 at 1:32 amMarcia, thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I am so pleased to hear that your lamb pie turned out well. I didn’t know it was hard to find lamb in Japan- I guess they have to import it from Australia!