Donal Skehan: 'Bubbling shepherds pie is the perfect comfort food for cold, dark nights'

Sofie and I are in full-on nesting mode at our house as we await the arrival of a new little bundle of joy. For weeks now I’ve been stowing away freezer bags of food ready for what I’ve dubbed our “baby bunker” – a collection of meals to tide us over as the inevitable sleepless nights take hold.

Italian ragu, veggie curries, pasta sauces, Indian dal, basically a collection of mushy comfort that can be reheated in the delirium! Quick-prep dishes that I bung in the oven or a pot in the morning and that are ready by lunchtime are my saviours and possibly the only thing I have in control before the madness ensues.

Despite the sunshine and palm trees here in Los Angeles, the days do turn darker and a little bit colder here and while it might not be Baltic, it triggers an inherently Irish response in me to batten down the hatches and cook for warmth and cosiness. And this week’s recipes are all about just that.

One of the first recipes I ever wrote was for a vegetable soup that we’ve been making in our family since I could reach the kitchen table and it continues to be one of the most popular that I see people making time and time again.

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This version is slightly updated, with the addition of a little cream. It’s a winter hug in a bowl, the type of thing you want to devour after a long, cold day. Serve with a wedge of cheddar and thyme soda bread slathered with butter and even the roughest of days will be forgotten.

If all that comfort isn’t enough, take solace from a bubbling shepherds pie with a difference. Topped with a cauliflower champ mash made rich with crème fraîche and an egg yolk, it’s a wintry dinner fix that will tide you over during even the darkest of days. Whatever bunker you’re preparing for, these beauties will see you through!

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Champ Mash

Hands-on time 30 mins 

Total time 90 mins

Serves 4

This is traditional comfort food made lighter with a completely untraditional topping of creamy cauliflower champ mash. This recipe can be made with lamb or beef, or as a vegetarian alternative with lentils and beans.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 medium carrots, diced

680g lamb mince

2 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp each of roughly chopped thyme and parsley

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

400ml beef or lamb stock

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the topping:

1 large cauliflower, broken into florets

200g half-fat crème fraîche

1 large egg yolk

6 spring onions, sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and soften the onion and carrots for 5-6 minutes.

2. Turn up the heat and allow the pan to get really hot before you add the lamb mince. Use a fork to break up the meat and allow it to brown and cook through for 3-4 minutes.

3. Stir through the tomato purée, herbs and Worcestershire sauce until combined and then pour over the stock. Bring to a steady simmer, then partially cover, reduce the heat and cook for 45 minutes. Towards the end of this cooking time preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

4. For the cauliflower mash topping, place the cauliflower in a food processor and blitz until it becomes the texture of couscous. Add the crème fraîche and egg yolk and blitz again to bring the mixture together. Transfer to a bowl, add the thinly sliced spring onions and season with salt and pepper, stirring to combine.

5. When the lamb is ready, season with salt and pepper and transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. Top with the cauliflower champ mash, using a spoon to create a nice finish. Give the topping an extra sprinkle of ground black pepper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the top is starting to brown and the mince is bubbling up around the edges. Serve straight away for a comforting supper!

Cheddar & Thyme Soda Bread

Cook time 40 mins

Serves 1 loaf

Add a little extra flour if you find the dough is too wet and sticky. Using a mature cheddar here makes the loaf even more flavoursome.

Ingredients

100g wholegrain flour

375g plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g mature cheddar, grated

1 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped

350ml buttermilk

1 large free-range egg

Pinch sea salt flakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 5). Grease and flour a large baking tray.

2. Stir together the flours, bicarbonate of soda, cheddar, thyme and salt in a large bowl to combine. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in a jug.

3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and then pour in the wet mixture. Using a wooden spoon, bring the mix together to form a dough. Tip the mix out on to a lightly floured surface and knead a little to create a smooth surface on the loaf.

4. Shape into a round and place on the baking tray.

5. Using a sharp knife, slightly cut a cross in the surface of the loaf, but not too deep. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. When the bottom is tapped it should sound hollow. Allow to cool before slicing and enjoying with a little butter.

Hearty Irish Vegetable Soup

Cook time 30 mins

Serves 4

If you prefer the soup completely smooth, just leave all the veggies in and blend everything together.

Ingredients

25g butter

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 leek, sliced

3 potatoes, peeled and diced (450g)

1.5 litres of vegetable stock

2 carrots, diced

1 parsnip, diced

4 sticks celery, sliced

100ml cream, optional

200g frozen peas

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium high heat. Add the onion, leek and potato. Sauté for 5-6 minutes until they’ve a little colour.

2. Add the stock, carrots, parsnip and celery. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender when you insert a fork.

3. Set aside a ladle of vegetables for adding back in later. Blitz the cream into the soup until smooth.

4. Return the vegetables to the soup along with the peas. Heat through and season to taste. Serve alongside the cheddar and thyme soda bread.

Bite-sized

Little hands make light work

Our little guy is loving his jobs in the kitchen and I managed to keep his attention last weekend as we made a batch of the cheddar and thyme soda bread!

Donal and Brian eat LA

My good pal, Big Brother-winner and Ireland’s most stylish man (as he likes to regularly remind me) Brian Dowling, joined me for an eating tour of Los Angeles recently which you can watch on my YouTube channel. As a self-confessed picky eater, I was very impressed that he tried tacos for the first time, a Korean oxtail stew and some of the best Ethiopian grub the city has to offer!

youtube.com/donalskehan

Quick-fix brunch

As much as I love planning a feast ahead of time, I do like the challenge of throwing something together last minute. We had some surprise guests last weekend and my quick fix for a crowd was shakshuka. A generous splodge of harissa paste in a hot pan with passata makes the perfect poaching liquid for some eggs. It’s a nice centrepiece for the table that takes minutes to prepare.

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