Quick and Easy

Creamy leek and tuna shepherd’s pie

A Kiwi classic gets a delicious twist with this tasty shepherd's pie recipe. A creamy leek, tuna and dill sauce pairs with fluffy mashed potatoes for a flavour combo that gives the original a run for its money
Tuna shepherd's pieAndrÉ Martin/Bauersyndication.com.au
4
50M

Ingredients

Method

1.Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to pan. Place them over low heat, then add 30g butter and milk. Mash until almost smooth. Season.
2.Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add the leek, then cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the flour, cooking and stirring for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the extra milk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream until smooth, whisking for 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Stir in the vegetables, tuna and dill, then remove from heat. Season and cool.
3.Preheat oven to 180°C. Gently press pastry sheets into a 20cm round pie plate, overlapping slightly at the centre. Trim the edges. Using a fork, decorate the edges of the pastry, then prick the base all over. Bake for 10 minutes. Spoon cooled tuna mixture into the pastry shell. Top with the mash. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Stand in the pie plate for 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with extra dill.
  • You can use canned pink salmon instead of tuna if you like. – To make ahead, assemble pie 2 hours in advance. Cover, then refrigerate. For best results, bake close to serving time. – We used a frozen vegetable mix of corn, carrot and broccoli.
Note

Related stories


Rabbit shepherd’s pie
Dinner

Rabbit shepherd’s pie

This is not shepherd’s pie in the strictest sense as it uses rabbit rather than lamb but it does have the golden potato topping of a shepherd’s pie.