Mmmmm, *some* people know about shepherd's pie, but it's mainly anglophiles and their friends. I like it a lot, but not with a bunch of other veggies in it, just beef and maybe some peas and the "gnashed taters" on top. I like it when the top is browned to where it tastes like Yorkshire pudding, you know what I mean?
How my mum made hers was mince the meat from Sunday (we only used lamb for Shepherd's beef is cottage pie and you put other veg with it.)
We used the left over gravy from the Sunday roast and added rosemary to it. Made mash potato, poured the meat and gravy into a greased Pyrex dish or similar put mashed potato on top with a few knobs of butter and put into oven until potato had started to brown, then took out of oven and put under the grill (broiler) to crisp the potato. My mum never put any veg with the meat unless the meat was beef and then it was peas and carrots but we normally ate the beef cold sliced with mashed potato and pickles.
Do not understand your Yorkshire Pudding comment.