Black Labrador Shepherds Pie

The Black Labrador is fabulous in ambiance and taste. When my fiancé as he was then, was working in Houston and I was visiting from Chicago we would go there for a meal. The food was excellent. They made a Black Bean soup that was sheer heaven. We married and moved back to England. I tried to get the recipe from the manager (according to him he was the chef at the time we went there) a number of years ago. Unfortunately no matter what I did, the recipe he gave me was nothing like what we had there. I keep telling my husband to get another contract in Houston!
Oh, and BTW…the food in England is not as bad as you are led to believe. If you search the old recipes, you will find good, hearty food. I spice the fare up with my American offerings, and it works out just fine!

You know I have really enjoyed English food. I had one of the best Shepherd Pies when I was over there traveling. It was topped with blue cheese crumbles that were browned in the oven. Soo tasty. Stephanie

Hello – love the site. However I was having some issues commenting on a recipe – I figure it’s because it was posted over a year or so ago.

I feel I should tell you, and you probably know already, that true Shepherds Pie is made with ground or “minced” lamb. I traveled to England in the last year and found that the Shepherds Pie my mother made (we’re of Irish descent) was actually Cottage Pie which is made with minced beef/ground chuck as you have posted. I know that many “English style” pubs and “Irish style” pubs in the states don’t differentiate because a lot of the general public wouldn’t know the difference.

Anyway – I just thought you should know, just in case you hadn’t. The person who commented is correct however that English food is not horrible as we Americans are led to believe. Actually it is rather bland but I found that is because they do not oversalt things nor do they use msg generally.
Thank you,
Erin Clark

I am aware of the differences in the definitions. While I don’t feel it is my job to correct recipes written by others. This is the recipe as posted by the Houston Post, a newspaper that is no longer active. You are right, Shepherd’s pie is with lamb, and Cottage pie is with the others. I think you are right most people do not know the difference and we call it Shepherd’s pie. My guess is some marketing person told the restaurant they would sell more if they called it Shepherd’s Pie instead of Cottage Pie. I appreciate your comment!