Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe written by Roosevelt Lewis 

Shepherd’s pie which is also known as “Cottage Pie” is traditional English dish that consist of meat cooked in gravy with mashed potatoes. The name shepherd’s pie is believed to be named after shepherds because they tend to take care of sheep not cattle, thus shepherd’s pie is made with lamb. In England a shepherd’s pie that is made with beef is called a Cottage pie.  In my version I use beef instead of lamb.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 ¼ hours

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients:

 

·        1 ½ pounds ground beef

·        1 onion, finely chopped

·        ½ cup carrots, peeled and diced

·        ½ cup peas

·        1 cup corn kernels

·        2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

·        8 tablespoons unsalted butter 

·        ¼ cup heavy cream

·        ½ cup beef broth

·        1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·        Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

·        Cheddar cheese, shredded, optional for garnish

Directions:

Place potatoes in cold salted water. Cover and boil potatoes in salted water until tender for about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tablespoons butter in large frying pan.

Sauté onions and carrots in butter until tender over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add peas to frying pan.

In a separate pan bring heavy cream and corn to a boil. Take off heat. Cover and let corn steep for about 15 minutes or longer.

Add ground beef and sauté until done. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Add beef stock, heavy cream and corn mixture. Cook uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef stock if necessary.

Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

Place beef, onion, carrot, peas, and corn mixture in baking dish. Use a pastry bag to pipe out mashed potatoes over beef and vegetables. If you don’t have a pastry bag you can also use a large spoon.  

Bake in 400ºF oven for about 30 minutes. If garnishing with cheddar cheese, broil in oven for a few more minutes until golden brown.

Variations: If you want a leaner version of this dish try ground turkey or chicken instead of ground beef.

For a vegetarian version of this dish, use vegetable stock in place of beef stock. In place of ground beef, add 2 pounds crimini mushrooms, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and ¼ cup red wine.