the.com/shepherds pie

means A baked dish of minced lamb (or mutton) cooked with vegetables and gravy, topped with mashed potato and browned in the oven.

from The name is exactly as literal as it sounds: a 'shepherd' tends sheep, so a true shepherd's pie uses lamb or mutton — distinguishing it from cottage pie, which uses beef. The term emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century, around the time mincing leftover roast meat under a thrifty potato crust became common in British and Irish kitchens; the potato itself had only recently grown cheap and plentiful enough to play the role of pastry for poorer households. The 'cottage' and 'shepherd' labels both nod to humble country cooking, though the careful lamb-versus-beef distinction is a tidier modern rule than the cooks of the day always observed.