Recipe
History
The earliest reference which can be found to the shepherd's pie is in ancient Greek texts. Indeed, Socrates was said to have discussed at length what he called the "Shepagus pi" . At about the same time pagans in ancient Britain were sacrificing shepherds to the gods. In certain scholarly circles such as Stonehenge it is believed is a stone memorial to the early pie. Orthodox druids may wince but it is believed by some that the stones themselves are simply compact mince.
The story of the shepherd's pie now moves into Biblical times and places and stories. Many middle eastern shepherds in what is now the Middle East still pass down through generations the part they played in the coming of Christ. One cold and frosty morning somewhere in a field the angel of the Lord came down and appeared to the shepherds. "Fear not", said he (for mighty dread was apparent in their eyes), "Lay down your crooks, forget your sheep and eat your shepherd's pies".
The exact circumstances of the Pie in the first millennium of this Anno Domini are unsure. Little documentary evidence remains but a certain proportion of the world's population must have kept the dish alive since, when the potato was brought to England, the shepherd's pie came roaring in with it.
Let us move forward to the twentieth century. Of course, the shepherd's pie had a vital part to play in the Second World War. The French word "berger" meaning "shepherd" was used as code to put the Germans off the scent. (Editor's note: And my, what a lovely scent the shepherd's pie has!) The Germans, envious that the Pie did not exist in the Reich, decided to occupy France to find out the Allies' secret recipe. Hitler sent Goebbels to find out what the fuss was about but, weary and confused, he returned to Berlin speaking of "ein Pie von einem Berger". The hamburger was born and, but for a short period in the 1980s (see below) this laughable processed snack has never threatened the shepherd's pie's superiority.
By 1950 lobbyists for the shepherd's pie were trying to infiltrate daily life. A small but powerful group of Londoners tried to introduce "shepherd's pies" into Cockney rhyming slang. At one time it was thought that the slang term for "eyes" could go either way but in the end the original term was too entrenched. Other attempts to bring in the Pie faltered. Nevertheless, in some East End taverns even today one may hear, "Watch out, me old china, your shepherd's pies are undone."
Scandal broke out in the autumn of 1972 in the letters pages of the Daily Telegraph when a correspondent dared to suggest that shepherd's pie should not contain an apostrophe. Although the Oxford English Dictionary came down on the side of the traditionalists many letter writers joined the "no apostrophe" bandwagon maintaining that more than one shepherd was sacrificed in pagan times and that "shepherds" was merely an adjective. The debate had petered out by January 1973 but bad blood remains and certain undercurrents of fierce hatred are still perceivable in the Home Counties over the issue.
By the late seventies the shepherd's pie was facing it's biggest challenge yet. The introduction of so-called "fast food" threatened the livelihood of the humble shepherd's pie (not to be confused with the humble pie). An attempt by the few remaining British shepherds to create the MacShepherd was sinisterly scuppered by the "Death on the Ouse" tragedy of 1981. The shepherd's bodies were never found but, as I am sure you will agree, isn't it most peculiar that, even to this day, no one has attempted to market the shepherd's pie in a fast-food restaurant.
It was time for the Pie to fight back. Supporters grew increasingly militant. By 1982 the anarchist group "Shepherd's Pie In Vitro Fertilisation" was waging a bombing campaign against supporters of the Co**ish P**tie. (Editors note: This website would like to point out that while it supports the arguments of SPIVF it does not in any way condone its violent actions.) In 1983 the group was widely believed to be behind in the stealing of prize-winning racehorse Sheargar. Sources close to the leadership of SPIVF suggest that the horse was minced, or in pie parlance "pie prepared" to spearhead the launch of the shepherd's pie in the French market.
The end of the eighties saw an upturn in fortunes of the "World's Favorite Pie" as the advertising slogan of the time ran. (Note spelling to appeal to the Americans. This was deemed preferable to "Mom's Shepherd's Pie" as it was thought politically incorrect and offensive in case some "moms" did not possess shepherds.) The shepherd's pie resurgence meant a cease-fire by SPIVF but just as the world's children were beginning to hope for a brighter, more peaceful future the European Community brought everything crashing down. Could the Maastricht Treaty really be the death knell for the shepherd's pie as we know it? The 1992 (chapter XI, subsection 53, number 21, English version) document reads: "The shepherd's pie must either be constructed by a genuine shepherd or contain a person or persons of the aforementioned profession within."
SPIVF re-formed, this time infiltrating British society at its highest levels. Their new catchphrase "We'll keep the Pie, by hook or by Shepherd's crook" went down well with the public. Everywhere you went you could not avoid seeing their campaign materials. In one of their more ostentatious attempts to publicise the plight of the Pie, SPIVF managed to get their cause mentioned on every newspaper front page in the country during the Conservative Party conference of 1994. Here is an example from the Daily Express on the 10th October, the day after a speech by the then Education Secretary: "Yet despite falling class sizes and improving examination results the new league tables illustrated by Gillian Shepherd's pie charts merely gloss over the funding crisis in our schools."
It was the shepherd's pie's finest hour. Sales rocketed around the globe and with the advent of the "Information Revolution"; internet chatrooms dedicated to the Pie brought forth debate like never before, new recipes from around the world and now a twenty-four hour digital television channel SPTV. Two thousand years after those shepherds heard the angel of the Lord speak unto them, and despite many periods of doom and despair, the shepherd's pie is back. Its story is a lesson to us all. When times are tough think of the challenges faced by the Pie, try out the recipe and remember, don't let the bergers get you down.
Recipe
History