Introducing a true comfort food, the crowd pleaser- Shepherd's Pie. This is a savoury Irish classic of a meat and vegetable base smothered in gravy nestled beneath a perfectly golden mashed potato topping. Here's a fun fact, authentic Shepherd's Pie is actually made with ground lamb and Cottage Pie is made with ground veal or beef. Now, not everyone's a big fan of ground lamb so many substitute it with ground veal or beef and are technically preparing a Cottage Pie. Sorry Cottage Pie, only about 5 percent of foodie's actually know you exist, enjoy your Shepherd's Pie folks.
Ingredients
Mash Potato Topping:
- 1 ½ lbs. (approx. 4-5 potatoes) russet potatoes
- 1/4 cup cream or milk
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
For the Meat filling:
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup onion- finely diced
- 2 carrots- peeled, finely diced
- 1 stalk celery- finely diced
- ½ cup corn
- ½ cup green beans, halved
- 2 cloves garlic- minced
- 2 tsps. tomato paste
- 2 lbs. ground veal or lamb
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 11/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. rosemary- fresh or dried, finely chopped
- 1 tsp. thyme- fresh or dried, finely chopped
- ½ cup frozen peas
Method:
- Add peeled and quartered potatoes to a medium pot, cover with cold water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, approx. 10-15 minutes or until potatoes can be inserted with a knife very easily. While potatoes are cooking refer to step 3.
- Once potatoes are cooked drain in colander, then place potatoes back in pot. Begin to mash then add in cream/milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg (optional). Mash potatoes until smooth. Set aside. Set oven to 375ᵒF.
- Begin preparing the meat filling. Heat large sauté pan or braiser, add olive oil, sauté onion, carrot, celery, peas, corn and green beans for 4 minutes. Add in garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, add in tomato paste and cook 1 minute longer. Next, add ground meat, salt and pepper, cook until fully browned, 6-7 minutes (this adds delicious depth and flavour, do not rush this step).
- To the meat add flour and stir to coat all the ingredients, cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, Worcestershire, Djon, rosemary, thyme - stir to incorporate, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as a lot of the brown bits add tremendous flavour. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes (the flour acts as a thickener and will assist in creating a gravy).
- Place the meat mixture into a greased 11 by 7-inch baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and spread evenly to the edges. Place on baking tray to catch any spill overs and bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
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